Does “Enhanced Support” for Offenders Effectively Reduce Custodial Violence and Disruption? An Evaluation of the Enhanced Support Service Pilot

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of The Enhanced Support Service (ESS) pilot in reducing custodial violence and disruption, and the associated costs, by observing the behavioural change of the 35 service users who participated in ESS intervention within its first 22 months of operation. Frequencies of recorded incidents of aggressive behaviours, self-harming behaviours, noncompliance, and positive behaviours were counted from routine administrative systems using a coding structure developed in previous studies. The count data were analysed using nonparametric tests and Poisson regression models to derive an Incident Rate Ratio (IRR). Findings suggest the ESS is associated with a reduction in aggressive behaviours and noncompliance, with medium to large effect sizes ( r = .31-.53); however, it was not associated with a reduction in deliberate self-harm or increased positive behaviours. The Poisson models revealed that levels of pre-intervention behaviour, intervention length, intervention completion, and service location had varying effects on postintervention behaviour, with those who completed intervention demonstrating more favourable outcomes. The ESS service model was associated with a reduction in behaviour that challenges, which has implications for the reduction in associated social, economic, and political costs-as well as the commissioning of interventions and future research in this area.

Interventions to reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviours among people in contact with the criminal justice system: A global systematic review

“…Of the 38 included studies, 16 were conducted in the United Kingdom (UK), 8 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 13 in the United States (US), 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 four in Australia, 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 two in Canada, 75 , 76 and one study in each of Austria, 77 Pakistan, 78 and Slovenia. 79 Thirty-three studies (87%) focused on adults and five (13%) focused on youth.…”

“…No studies were identified which examined suicide prevention interventions for people detained in police custody, people on bail or parole, or people in the community who had been released from prison, youth detention, or a forensic hospital. Most studies (n=31, 82%) did not have a control or comparison group, 8 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 48 , 49 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 64 , 65 , 67 , 68 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 and only four studies were RCTs. 50 , 56 , 66 , 69 …”

“…Of the 38 included studies, 33 (87%) sampled adults 8 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 and five (13%) sampled youth. 54 , 61 , 66 , 67 , 68 Among the 87% of studies that sampled adults, ages ranged from 18 to 74 and 17 included only males, 8 , 43 , 44 , 49 , 50 , 52 , 57 , 59 , 60 , 63 , 65 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 76 , 79 seven only females, 46 , 47 , 48 , 53 , 55 , 56 , 78 seven both...…”

“…64 , 75 Four studies sampled adult participants from people detained in forensic hospitals 47 , 55 , 72 or people on community forensic orders. 45 Most studies did not report ethnicity, however for the eleven that did, eight reported a majority of participants (62 – 92%) that self-reported as white, 8 , 44 , 45 , 48 , 50 , 53 , 58 , 69 with a minority who self-reported as African American (10-20%), Native American (1-4%), Asian (1-4%), Black (5%) and other or missing (4%). 50 , 58 , 69 Two studies reported that a majority of participants (54-55%) were Hispanic black, 59 , 63 and one study reported the majority to be African American (50%).…”

“…Most studies (n=26, 68%) were assessed as medium quality according to our categorisation of the JBI, 8 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 48 , 49 , 52 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 60 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 67 , 68 , 70 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 11 (29%) were assessed as high quality, 47 , 50 , 51 , 53 , 59 , 61 , 62 , 66 , 69 , 72 , 73 and one was assessed as low quality. 71 Although not formally tested, we found that there was a protective effect of interventions reported by authors in 29 (76%) of the included studies, suggesting that there might be a publication bias in the available literature.…”