This instruction applies to / Reference
Providers of Probation Services / PI 21/2014
Issue Date / Effective Date
IMPLEMENTATION DATE / Expiry Date
01 May 2014 / 01 June 2014 / For Review by 31 December 2014
Issued on the authority of / NOMS Agency Board
For action by (Who is this Instruction for) / All staff responsible for the development and publication of policy and instructions
NOMS HQ
NOMS Rehabilitation Contract Services Team
Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs)
National Probation Service (NPS) Directorate
Instruction type / Service Specification Support/ Service Improvement
For information / All staff involved in a parole or recall oral hearing taking place via the Parole Hub (video-link) network.
Provide a summary of the policy aim and the reason for its development / revision / To provide practice guidance to National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Company staff regarding their involvement in parole or recall hearings taking place via the Parole Hub (video-link) network.
This instruction has been updated to reflect changes following implementation of the Transforming Rehabilitation Programme.
This instruction will be reviewed again by 31/12/2014.
Contact /
Offender Management and Public Protection Group
Rebecca Conway - 0300 047 4584
Associated documents / PI 11/2013 – Victim Contact Scheme Manual
PSI 71/2011 – Parole Hub Prison Service Instruction
PSI 36/2012 – Generic Parole Process (GPP) amended to incorporate Electronic Working
PSI 19/2013 – Generic Parole Process for Determinate sentence prisoners (GPP-D)
PSI 17/2013-PI 07/2013Recall, Review & re-release of recall offender
The Target Operating Model (TOM)
Replaces the following documents which are hereby cancelled:- PI 16/2011 - Giving Evidence through Video-link to the Parole Board
Audit/monitoring: Director of National Probation Service in England, Director of NOMS in Wales, NOMS Directors of Rehabilitation Services for Community Rehabilitation Companies and the Parole Performance Monitoring Board will monitor compliance with the mandatory requirements in this instruction.
NOMS contract management will hold providers to account for delivery of mandated instructions as required in the contract.
Notes: All Mandatory Actions throughout this instruction are in italics and must be strictly adhered to.
PAGE 6
CONTENTS
Section / Subject / For referenced byExecutive Summary / NPS and CRC staff
1 / Background
2 / Desired outcomes
4 / Application
6 / Mandatory actions
10 / Resource impact
11 / Operation instructions
13 / Notification of an oral hearing to be conducted by VCT
17 / Submitting reports and addendum reports
20 / The day of the hearing
23 / Victim participation
Annex A / Contact Details
Executive summary
Background
1. The number of establishments that are part of the parole hub (video-link) network is set to continue to expand. The hub is intended to save time and speed up the hearing of cases by bringing a large number of them together at a single hearing location and by making use of video-conferencing technology (VCT). Both the prisoner and the witnesses will give their evidence by VCT, thus saving time and expenses for National Probation Service (NPS) /Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) staff who will no longer have to travel to and from parole/recall hearings. Prisoners and their advocates will give their evidence to the Parole Board through the VCT link. Likewise, NPS and CRC Offender Managers and staff will be expected to give their evidence through local VCT facilities.
Desired outcomes
2. The overriding outcome of any Parole Board hearing is to assist the Board in making an informed and accurate risk assessment in order to ensure the protection of the public.
3. The hub can increase the Board’s capacity to hold hearings, thereby minimising delay and ensuring the timely consideration of cases. It is also intended to save CRCs and the NPS resources by not requiring staff to travel to oral hearings to give their evidence.
Application
4. All NPS and CRC staff who are involved in a parole or recall oral hearing taking place via the parole hub (video-link) network. All references to Offender Manager (OM) refer to both NPS and CRC OMs performing that role.
5. Whilst the NPS will manage the vast majority of those offenders subject to consideration by the Parole Board for discretionary release on parole, there will be some recalled offenders managed by CRCs who will be subject to standard recall and review by the Board. CRC staff are unable to advise courts or court like bodies such as the Parole Board. If the Parole Board refers a CRC case to oral hearing and directs the attendance of the OM, responsibility falls to the NPS to attend the oral hearing and give evidence. The NPS can request that the NOMS Public Protection Casework Section (PPCS) perform this role on their behalf which will generally be NPS staff who are working in PPCS on loan. Although CRCs are unable to advise on the question of risk or release, they can be called to a Parole Board hearing in those cases where the board is seeking to establish the facts that led to the request for recall being made. The Board may, therefore, direct that a CRC OM must attend a recall oral hearing to give evidence.
Mandatory actions
6. NPS and CRC managers must ensure that appropriate VCT facilities have been identified for use by staff required by the Parole Board to attend a parole or recall oral hearing being held via video-link.
7. NPS and CRC staff must be aware of and adhere to the procedures to follow leading up to and during the hearing, as outlined in the operational guidance.
8. NPS and CRC staff must ensure that all reports, and addendum reports are submitted to the Parole Board Secretariat at least three working days before the hearing; where, exceptionally, material evidence needs to be submitted within three days of the hearing, the relevant PPCS case manager must be alerted. Any new information that comes to light after reports are submitted must be alerted to the PPCS case manager who will liaise with the Parole Board regarding circulating it.
9. The OM must ensure all information about the hearing, including whether the hearing will be heard by video-link and the date, are passed on to the NPS Victim Liaison Officer (VLO) as soon as possible so that the VLO can keep the victim informed. VLOs must advise victims who wish to present their Victim Personal Statement (VPS) to the Parole Board panel in person that they will be required to use VCT.
Resource Impact
10. The Parole Board holds over 4,000 oral hearings a year. Sampling exercises estimate that on average it costs over £300.00 for OMs to attend each Parole Board hearing in person. The hub and any further rollout of VCT facilities should therefore result in resource savings.
Contacts
For further information about this Probation Instruction contact:
Offender Management and Public Protection Group
(Signed)
Colin Allars,
Director of Probation, NOMS
Operational instructions
11. Prisoners in establishments with VCT and possibly those in nearby establishments are likely to have their parole/recall oral hearings allocated to the hub, although Parole Board panel chairmen have the discretion to be able to direct that the witnesses/prisoner give their evidence in person. The prisoner also has the right to apply to the Parole Board to appear before a panel in person if they have reason to believe the parole hub process will prevent their case from being considered fairly.
12. NPS and CRC managers must ensure that an appropriate VCT facility is identified for the purpose of giving evidence to Parole Board hearings. The facility must be situated in a room where there is no background noise and where only those staff involved in the hearing process will be present during the time of the hearing. In addition, the link must be over a secure line, and of sufficient quality to enable efficient communication with the hub. Should the VCT facility not meet these requirements, then staff will be expected to use other nearby facilities which do comply.
Notification of an Oral Hearing to be Conducted by VCT
13. The Parole Board will inform the establishment and OM when a hearing is to be listed at the hub. The notification will be issued 6 weeks before the hearing is due to take place. In cases where no such notification is received, the OM should assume that they will be required to travel to the hearing to give their evidence. The OM must ensure all information about the hearing, including whether the hearing will be heard by video-link and the date, are passed on to the VLO as soon as possible so that the VLO can keep the victim informed.
14. As is currently the case, the OM is expected always to attend Parole Board hearings when directed to do so. If for any unavoidable reason they are unable to attend, in consultation with staff in PPCS, they must arrange for their manager, or another well-briefed colleague, to attend on their behalf.
15. The notification will set out the time from which the OM must be available to give their evidence. The notification requires the OM to provide the following information:
I The telephone number for the VCT facilities;
Ii The name of any colleague who may be sitting with the OM whilst they give evidence; and
Iii A contact telephone number on which the OM can be contacted on the day, either before or after the time set out in the notification letter. This can be a mobile number if that is the easiest way to establish direct contact.
16. The OM must respond to the notification as soon as possible and no later than 7 days after it has been received.
Submitting Reports and Addendum Reports
17. When a hearing is conducted through a hub it will be virtually impossible to circulate reports/ addendum reports to the panel and other parties on the day of the hearing. As a result, production of written material on the day could result in the hearing being deferred or adjourned at considerable wasted expense.
18. OMs must therefore make sure that all reports/addendum reports and any other written evidence is made available to the Parole Board at least 3 working days before the oral hearing is due to take place.
19. Should, exceptionally, new information come to light within 3 days of the hearing, the OM must alert the PPCS case manager, who will liaise with the Parole Board to consider whether it is possible to circulate the information in time for the hearing.
The day of the hearing
20. On the day of the hearing the OM must be in location at the specified time. They must make sure that they have alerted the Parole Board if they are to be accompanied by a colleague or a manager. They must also be contactable by telephone.
21. The OM must be sitting where they can be clearly seen and heard by all other participants. They must identify themselves to the panel, as must any other person accompanying them. They are able to bring the offender’s file with them to the hearing, although they should make sure that the papers are in order so that information is easily accessible.
22. The panel might direct that the OM, as well as giving evidence, should be present throughout the hearing or, specifically, during the point of the hearing where the offender gives their evidence. If the OM is not so directed, but wishes to listen to the remainder of the proceedings they should seek the permission of the panel chair.
Victim Participation
23. In accordance with PI 11/2013, it is possible for a victim or victim’s family, to request to present their VPS in person to the Parole Board. Where the hearing is to take place at the hub, it must be explained to the victim that their evidence can only be given through VCT facilities, as will the evidence of all other participants. In such circumstances it will not be possible for the victim or their family to request to attend the panel in person, though they should still request permission of the Parole Board, as is the current practice, to participate in the hearing via VCT. It is expected they will then normally attend an identified office with the VLO, where there are VCT facilities and read their VPS via VCT there.
24. In order to make the victim’s experience as positive as possible and to reduce the stress of the situation NPS/CRC staff should try to reduce the risks of victims coming into contact with other offenders who may be visiting the a NPS/CRC office. Where at all possible NPS/CRC staff should try to arrange separate waiting facilities for victims or escort them via a different route to the VCT room.
25. If non-disclosure has been agreed, the offender will not be present. The VLO should confirm this is the case before turning the video link equipment on. If the VPS is to be disclosed but the victim does not wish the offender to be present whilst it is read, the final decision regarding the offender’s attendance will be made by the Panel chair; the Panel chair will take the victim’s views into account.