Practice guidance has been prepared for those organisations and personnel involved in the home leave process and has been compiled by the Home Leave Working Group.
Represented on the Group were members from the Association of Directors of Social Work (ADSW), the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), the Police, Scottish Executive Justice Department, Community Justice Services and Parole & Life Sentences Review Divisions, the Scottish Executive Criminal Justice Group Projects and the Voluntary Sector.
The remit of the Group was:
- to take forward an initial scoping paper on home leave issues prepared by SPS, local authority representatives and other interested parties in December 2004;
- to examine how home leave operates;
- to define ways in which the home leave process could be made a more effective and efficient process for all concerned; and
- to produce appropriate practice guidance.
The context for the work on home leave is part of an Executive review on accommodation issues relating to offenders, comprising:
- The National Accommodation Strategy for Sex Offenders;
- A seminar on Housing Advice Services for Prisoners;
- A review of supported accommodation services for offenders; and
- The Home Leave Working Group.
The guidance has been prepared to help improve practice, to provide clarity about roles and responsibilities and to encourage a more integrated approach for the various agencies involved in the home leave process. It promotes a shared vision around a more focused home leave process which both promotes public safety and assists resettlement.
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