Vetting your property

I was initially given the impression that this would be an impossible hurdle, but it isn’t.  It’s nothing like the lengthy process required to be a foster parent for example.

12 weeks before a prisoner is due to be released, resettlement should be talking to them about accommodation.  The effectiveness of this depends on the staff to prisoner ratio.

If they are still on licence, the property needs to be checked.

Who are the people living there?

STAGE 1 Police Check

Are there any call outs to the police from there?  Are any of the occupants known?

STAGE 2 Social Services Check

Are there any vulnerable people in the house?  There can be children under the age of 18, although we think in the pilot, it would be better not to involve families with children under 18.  Everyone currently living in the house would need to be checked.

Checking out any other vulnerable people in close proximity

STAGE 3 Probation (The probation officer the person has on the outside)

Does the house fall inside any other exclusion zones?

Any other criteria?  E.g. there must be a bed for the occupant, not a sofa

My understanding is that most of this liaison / questioning work is done by the prisoner’s designated probation officer.  The prisoner needs to be finding out who they are likely to be in the 12 week period before release, because it might not be the same one they had before they came to prison.

One hurdle seems to be that they are often expected to return to the locality where the crime was committed, even if they don’t want to do so, but perhaps this can be negotiated with enough forward planning.  The OMU who is a probation officer in a prison might be helpful in this.

I hear stories of prisoners who might go back to live with their Mum, but get refused, because she is living in a one-bedroom flat and they would be sleeping on the sofa. Those decisions are reasonable and in the prisoner’s best long term interest, as well as not putting too much pressure on family relationships.