"We still have suicides in prisons, deaths in custody, communities under threat.
Whether they are killed by guns, by physical force, or while in custody, communities of color bear the disproportionate brunt of police violence.
We need to provide a genuine third option to custody and community punishment.
Under numerous governments, reoffending rates – either through custody or community sentences – have been averaging about 80% within two years.
As such, this provides one possible solution to how to provide better care for the large and growing population of Indigenous people with substance dependence transitioning from custody to community.
"There will always be cases where the court rightly decides prison is the most appropriate sentence, and we are supporting the Scottish Prison Service to provide services that help transform the lives of people in custody". The community safety charity Sacro welcomed the further fall in reconviction rates, which it said were a real indicator of persistent offending across the country.
To assist prisoners in their transition from custody to community, successful programs require pre-release planning; provision of emotional support from caseworkers, family members and friends; and practical support such as access to stable housing and financial resources.
System level barriers to timely communication between in-custody and community providers included inmates being placed on remand which contributed to uncertainty regarding release dates and therefore difficulties planning for release, cycling in and out of prison on short sentences and being released to freedom without access to support services.
As hard as it was to read the cases of abuse documented in the report, they echoed the voices of minority ethnic girls that I had met in custody and communities around England over the past eight years.
During this period, Mr. Huddleston worked throughout the Tennessee and Oklahoma justice systems to develop, implement and operate numerous offender-specific, in-custody and community mental health and substance abuse treatment programs.
