Home > The ‘manageability of risk’ and recall on Supervised Licence: post-release pathways for serious violent and sexual offenders in Northern Ireland.

Delimata, Alexandra and Seymour, Mairead (2017) The ‘manageability of risk’ and recall on Supervised Licence: post-release pathways for serious violent and sexual offenders in Northern Ireland. Irish Probation Journal, 14, pp. 92-111.

External website: http://www.probation.ie/EN/PB/0/6E80A40B6DF9B0CC80...


Extended custodial sentences (ECSs) for serious offenders were introduced under the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008. These sentences combine custody with a subsequent period on supervised licence in the community during which offenders can be recalled to prison should their ‘risk of serious harm’ increase to an ‘unmanageable level’. Using a documentary file analysis approach, the study investigates the outcomes for all ECS offenders released under supervised licence between 15 October 2010 and 31 December 2013 (n = 57).

 

The recall rate was established at 54%, with nearly half of recalls occurring within four weeks of release. Collation of offender records developed profiles of the ECS offenders and examined characteristics of recalled (n = 31) and non-recalled (n = 26) offenders. The paper offers tentative observations as to why some offenders remained under licence in the community and others were recalled to custody. Analysis points to the potential of enhancing pre-release working relationships between offenders and supervisors, strengthening through-care supports to reflect the complexity of offenders’ needs, and focusing on the integration of strengths-based approaches in risk management policy and practice.

Repository Staff Only: item control page