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Have your say on what Clinks Thinks

About this survey

We want our policy and influencing work to accurately reflect the experiences of voluntary organisations working in criminal justice.

If you’re a voluntary organisation working with people in the criminal justice system, you can help us do this by telling us which policy areas have the most impact on your organisation’s work and the people you support.

In 2017, we published Clinks Thinks which sets out the core principles which inform our influencing work based on key issues raised by the sector. Since its publication, the policy landscape and operating environment has changed dramatically, so we are reviewing our priorities and positions.

This survey will ask about your policy priorities, how they impact on the people you support, and how they impact the delivery of your services.
  • It takes 5-10 minutes to complete
  • The survey is open for two weeks until Thursday 10th December
  • For more details about this survey, please read our recent blog.
1.Is your voluntary organisation’s main purpose to work in criminal justice?
2.For each of the statements below, please tell us the extent to which they would have a positive impact on your organisation's ability to meet the needs of the people you support. (e.g. very positive impact, positive impact, neither positive or negative, negative impact, very negative impact)(Required.)
very positive impact
positive impact
neutral - neither positive or negative impact
negative impact
very negative impact
REDUCE THE PRISON POPULATION

Clinks thinks the Ministry of Justice should develop a clear strategy for reducing the number of people in prison by increasing investment in preventative services, diverting people away from the criminal justice system and expanding the use of alternatives to custody.
IMPLEMENT A DISTINCT APPROACH FOR WOMEN

Clinks thinks a cross-departmental strategy for women and girls, led by the Ministry of Justice, should ensure that women are diverted away from the criminal justice system at the earliest opportunity. To do this we need to increase the use of gender-specific community sentences and make sure we invest in specialist voluntary organisations including women’s centres.
TACKLE RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION

Clinks thinks all sectors working in criminal justice must work to tackle racism and discrimination by ensuring that they are using evidence and examples of good practice to meet the needs of BAME people. Government should have a comprehensive strategy which gives race equality a central place in all policy making and should have ambitious aims for reducing the inequality across the system.
PREVENT THE IMPRISONMENT OF CHILDREN

Clinks thinks the youth justice system needs to remain focussed on reducing the use of custody, increasing the use of early intervention and diversion, and provide a locally-owned and multi-agency approach to all services. A national strategy needs to be produced and published to both address the causes of over-representation of BAME young people in the youth justice system, and address the reasons why reducing a youth custody approach has failed this group.
DELIVER A DISTINCT APPROACH FOR YOUNG ADULTS

Clinks thinks the Ministry of Justice should utilise the evidence gathered by the Transition to Adulthood Alliance to produce a national strategy for the management of young adults aged 18-25 at all stages of the criminal justice system (as recommended by the Justice Select Committee). This needs to deliver a distinct approach to young adults and design services which support desistance from crime, based on evidence and consultation.
INVOLVE PEOPLE WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE

Clinks thinks the Ministry of Justice, commissioners, and all service providers should embed the involvement of people with lived experience throughout the criminal justice system to inform policy and practice.
JOIN UP SERVICES TO RESPOND TO MULTIPLE NEEDS

Clinks thinks decision makers, commissioners and service providers should use learning from the Making Every Adult Matter coalition and the Big Lottery’s Fulfilling Lives programme to develop new policies and better coordinated services which support people with multiple needs.
3.For each of the statements below, please tell us the extent to which they would have a positive impact on your organisation's ability to meet the needs of the people you support. (e.g. very positive impact, positive impact, neither positive or negative, negative impact, very negative impact).(Required.)
very positive impact
positive impact
neutral - neither positive or negative impact
negative impact
very negative impact
VALUE THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR

Clinks thinks the voluntary sector’s role as a forward-thinking designer and provider of services needs to be recognised. Voluntary organisations should be proactively engaged as a valued partner by policy makers and service providers throughout the criminal justice system at a local, regional and national level.
STRENGTHEN THE SECTOR'S VOICE

Clinks thinks the voluntary sector’s role as a campaigner should be protected, allowing it to speak freely on behalf of service users and communities.
PUT PEOPLE AT THE HEART OF SERVICES

Clinks thinks the Government and local services should do more to put people in the criminal justice system at the heart of policy making and service delivery. Policy and practice should be person-centred, acknowledge that people need long-term support, and that relapse can sometimes be part of the journey to rehabilitation.
SUPPORT HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS

Clinks thinks a clear government strategy is needed to advocate for consistent and specialist services which support positive social relationships for people in the criminal justice system in custody and post-release, and which support children’s wellbeing.
IMPROVE HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Clinks thinks commissioners and providers in the health and criminal justice systems should work together to prioritise improving health and wellbeing and continuity of care. This should include investment in prevention, early identification of people with health needs, diverting people into treatment where appropriate and ensuring continuity of care for people as they enter prison, move between different prisons, or on release back into the community.
CHAMPION VOLUNTEERING

Clinks thinks volunteering should be championed by the Ministry of Justice, courts, probation services and prisons. They should work with the voluntary sector to create a culture and operating environment which encourages and supports volunteers.
ENCOURAGE CREATIVITY AND INSPIRATION

Clinks thinks the Ministry of Justice, commissioners, and all service providers should ensure access to arts activities for people involved in the criminal justice system. To this end the Ministry of Justice and the Arts Council should develop a joint strategy to support the arts within criminal justice settings.
4.Are there other policy priorities not listed above that are currently affecting your organisation or your work? If yes, please give us details below:
5.Can you tell us what policy change would have the biggest impact on your organisation's ability to deliver its work?
6.Can you tell us what policy change would have the biggest impact on the people you support?
7.Is there anything else you would like to comment on about Clinks’ policy priorities?
8.Clinks may wish to approach you for further information or clarification. Please provide your details below if you are happy for us to contact you. We will only contact you about this survey and you will not receive any marketing emails from us.

Confidentiality and data protection
We will only use your data for the purposes specified above and it will only be processed by Clinks. By completing this survey, you confirm you have given explicit consent for us to collect data about your organisation and any personal data included in your responses. Taking part is completely voluntary and you can withdraw at any time. Your name and identifying details will not be included in our report. To withdraw please email sophie.campion@clinks.org. For more info on Clinks’ privacy policies, please see here.
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions.

Your responses will help us to ensure that our policy and influencing work is advocating for the issues that matter most to the voluntary sector working in the criminal justice system.

This is just the first stage of a wider programme to consult you on our policy work. Following this, we will continue to work with the sector to refine our policy messages. Watch out for updates in our Light Lunch ebulletin.

If you have any questions about this work, please contact sophie.campion@clinks.org.
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