They say it takes a village to raise a child, but what if it takes an entire community to rehabilitate an individual?
In a recent episode of The Rest Is Politics podcast, Rory Stewart, former former Minister of State for the Ministry of Justice, proposed the idea of having a charity liaison officer in each prison to harness the power of the local community. This concept isn’t as far-fetched as it might seem—we already have the technology to make it a reality.
According to Clinks, there are Over 1,700 voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system. A significant number of these organisations specialise in addressing critical areas such as alcohol and substance abuse, mental health, and housing—areas where offenders often have the greatest need. Today, Make Time Count collaborates with Clinks, the specialist infrastructure charity dedicated to supporting voluntary organisations working directly with people in, and connected to, the criminal justice system across England and Wales.
Evidence from academic research and trials indicates that offenders who receive appropriate interventions are significantly less likely to reoffend compared to those who only receive financial penalties from the courts. Yet, despite this, over half of all victims report being so dissatisfied with their experience in the criminal justice system that they would hesitate to report another crime. In addition why is it that only a fraction of individuals leaving prison receive timely drug treatment, an intervention crucial for their rehabilitation.
In our work with probation services, we’ve measured how long it takes a probation officer to refer a user to a partner organisation. Astonishingly, it can take up to 45 minutes just to identify and pass on an individual’s details. We’ve found similar delays in our work with the police. This time-consuming process, combined with overworked staff, means that local support services, capable of providing the most effective interventions, are often overlooked.
Even when a referral is successfully made, there is little evidence to confirm whether the individual attended the session, nor is there sufficient feedback from the user or the service provider regarding the intervention’s suitability. Without this information, it’s impossible to link interventions to reoffending rates and determine their true efficacy. Imagine if the NHS dispensed millions of pounds worth of medication each year without regularly testing their effectiveness—this is essentially what is happening with offender interventions.
At Make Time Count, we’ve developed a platform designed to bring together justice agencies, local partners, councils, and other stakeholders, creating a personalised support network for every victim or offender. With our platform, a referral that once took 45 minutes can now be completed in seconds, freeing up valuable time for staff to provide direct support to users. Real-time information tracks whether a user attends their sessions, and 360° feedback is gathered for every intervention. This allows staff to identify which interventions are most suitable for different individuals. By integrating with police systems, we can then correlate reoffending rates with the interventions received, helping to determine the effectiveness of each approach based on the user profile.
If you’d like to learn more about our software, click here. Learn more about Clinks’ work in justice partnerships here.
Contact us at hello@MakeTimeCount.today.