Peers in Prison Settings (PiPS) Expert Symposium (original) (raw)
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Factors that determine the effectiveness of peer interventions in prisons in England and Wales
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The management of vulnerable prisoners, especially those with mental health difficulties, within the Irish prison system has been the subject of concern and criticism over a number of years. There has been particular concern about the situation in Mountjoy Prison as it has consistently suffered from issues of high prisoner numbers, high prisoner turnover and poor infrastructure. In 2011 the establishment of a High Support Unit within Mountjoy Prison was recognised by the World Health Organisation through awarding its work a prize in relation to healthcare initiatives within prisons. It was further recognised when it won the main award at the Irish Healthcare Awards for 2011 and also won a Taoiseach’s Award for Public Service innovation in 2012.This paper traces the background to the establishment of the High Support Unit, highlights the value of a multi-agency and multidisciplinary response in this area of criminal justice and considers the implications for the Probation Service in working with offenders facing mental health difficulties. The paper suggests a need to transfer the learning from Mountjoy Prison not just to other prisons in Ireland, but also to the integrated management of offenders in the community.
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Globally, prisoners tend to come from marginalized and socially disadvantaged sections of the society and exhibit a high incidence of ill health, linked to social exclusion and multiple complex needs. Prisons therefore offer an important opportunity to tackle inequality and injustice, through promoting health, reducing reoffending and facilitating community reintegration.This paper reports on and critically discusses findings from an evaluative research study, which aimed to identify and explore impacts of prisoners’ participation in an innovative social and therapeutic horticultural programme, ‘Greener on the Outside for Prisons’ (GOOP), delivered in prisons in North West England. Focus groups with 16 prisoners and semi-structured interviews with six prison staff were conducted at five sites. Presented under three overarching themes (health and well-being; skills development, employability, and work preparedness; and relationships), findings suggest that engagement with and partici...
Prison-based peer-education schemes
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2005
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This paper details the development and outcomes of a pilot peer mediation initiative in Castlerea prison in County Roscommon, Ireland, in 2016-2017. A process evaluation was undertaken using desk research and qualitative discussions with peer mediators and partners to the process. This pilot included a 10-week training programme for peer mediators, the majority of whom were male Traveller prisoners in Castlerea prison. The partners to the programme are the Traveller Mediation Service (TMS), the Travellers in Prison Initiative (TPI) (see Appendix 1 for details of these services), The Irish Prison Service (IPS) and the Education and Training Board (ETB), called the ‗school‘ in Castlerea prison. The paper describes the impacts and elements of good practice of the pilot programme, as well as proposed next steps in the programme‘s implementation. It concludes that the peer mediation programme has potential for implementation across Irish prisons.