PRISON DIALOGUE TRUSTEES REPORT
YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2013
Introduction:
This was the 20th anniversary year for Prison Dialogue (PD), a year for celebration, for telling our
story, building our credibility and visibility, and strengthening experts’ involvement to more
effectively engage with the Criminal Justice System (CJS) internationally.
We have taken major strides in meeting key components of our strategic plan:
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The Knowledge Hub is now offering easy access to a Corpus of Knowledge through our Web
Site and Case studies.
The Practice Hub provides an opportunity for people to build skill and capacity in dialogue
through our Associate and Corporate Associate Programme.
Convening Key Conversations Hub has targeted engagement with the Ministry of Justice
(MOJ) and National Offender Management Service (NOMS) in the UK. In the USA
engagement with various state departments of correction took place following a
presentation made at the American Corrections Association (ACA) conference.
We also now have a strong PD Council and energetic sub groups. The celebratory event in
September was well received and important work continues with our associates engaging in direct
Dialogue interventions in the UK and in the USA, where the most extensive Dialogue initiative
continues in Virginia.
Our Vision:
Our vision continues to be – ‘to encourage the international use of Dialogue to integrate & humanise
society in and out of prison, thereby ensuring successful journeys for offenders from arrest to
resettlement,and fulfilling careers for staff in the criminal justice system’.
The PD Council:
The idea of creating a PD Council was suggested at our AGM in Jan ’13 to work with the support of
PD staff to design, resource and deliver a strategy to meet the vision of Prison Dialogue. We had
been gaining advisory support from significant experts from the criminal justice field who have
experienced working with Dialogue and we wanted to make this a more formal arrangement.
The Council was established in May 2013 and members have engaged well over the year, meeting
regularly as a full council and in sub groups and achieving much of what we set out to do.
Members include prison Governors and Directors, the Chief of Research at the National Institute of
Corrections (NIC) in the US, a Probation professional, a former executive from a private sector prison
provider, along with a PD Trustee and PD management.
The Knowledge Hub:
Case Studies:
It was decided the best way to tell our story and mark 20 years of PD working in the criminal justice
system in the UK and USA and consolidate our learning was to create a compendium of summary
Case Studies of our interventions - 41 were written up and launched at our 20th anniversary event in
Sept 2013.
Every intervention we have designed and implemented has been extensively documented using an
action research methodology. For the compendium we focussed on creating short summaries of
each, highlighting the following: Context; Aims and Objectives; Method: Activity, Participation and
Duration; Outcomes and Learning. This is an invaluable resource that will help inspire and inform
others through stories of the work done in a wide range of different situations.
This has been a huge undertaking, within a tight timescale and special thanks to our director Peter
Garrett, Jane Ball, Mark Seneschall and Liz Leigh for writing up each case. Many thanks also to
Catherine Smith and Pippa Toms for printing and collating the Case studies.
The Web Site: http://www.prisondialogue.org
The website is a core vehicle for achieving our Vision to “encourage the international use of
Dialogue” and we’re delighted to report the new web site has been live for much of the year and
provides an important resource to engage, educate, inform and inspire. This was a priority last year
and again much effort has gone into its creation, many thanks to all involved. The international
dimension has begun with contributions from writers in the US (Chris Innes – Director of Research at
the NIC) and UK (the former Chief Exec of NOMS Phil Wheatley), with ‘Letters from America and the
UK’. In 2014 activity will focus on extending the material held on the website, notably with the
addition of the summary Case Studies, and of increasing its visibility, eg by increasing the number of
links to/from related sites.
Practice Hub: Associate and Corporate Associate:
With the help of the Practice Hub sub group we have developed an Associate Programme and
structure to provide individualised support, training and materials and a community of practice for
those working or intending to work dialogically, initially in the UK criminal justice system. Our first
meeting with potential Associate members took place in Nov and we received an encouraging
response. As part of the offer, Associates’ Dialogue Skills Training sessions will be held in the UK
throughout 2014.
20th Anniversary Celebration:
To mark twenty years since the first Dialogue held in a prison (HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire in
Sept 1993) we ran a very successful anniversary event at the Malmaison hotel in Oxford – a fitting
venue as it was formerly the local Oxford prison. 40 people attended from a former inmate from the
original Dialogues at HMP Whitemoor to a representative of the US National Institute of Corrections,
and delegates from public and private sector prisons, probations, NOMS and the MOJ, old staff and
volunteers, and other stakeholders.
Most of the day was spent bringing to life the time line of initiatives that was created for the event.
Delegates sat in concentric circles and joined the conversation in the central circle if they’d been
directly involved and stepped out and listened in the outer circle when not involved. Four different
conversations helped highlight the four shifting focuses we have had over 20 years
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Improving relationships between prisoners and staff
Cultural change work, using Dialogue to address prisons organisational needs and
opportunities
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Threshold Dialogue work bringing together community agencies and prison staff, offenders
and ex-offenders to address resettlement
 The International Activities of the Charity notably our ongoing work with Virginia
Department of Corrections with their state wide initiative to create a ‘Healing Environment’.
It gave all an opportunity to broaden their understanding for the work, and we were delighted with
feedback from the day. Many thanks to Catherine Smith and Pippa Toms for administering the day
and Peter Garrett and Jane Ball for facilitating.
Associate Activities
Virginia Department of Correction (VADOC)
Our associate partner Dialogue Associates has continued taking a leading roll over the past year
working on a state wide initiative with the Virginia Department of Correction (VADOC) to transform
its activities under the banner of 'creating a Healing Environment' (with 12,000 employees, including
39 prisons and 43 probation centres)
VADOC offer this description:
“The Healing Environment is purposefully created by the way we work together and treat each
other, encouraging all to use their initiative to make positive, progressive changes to improve lives. It
is safe, respectful, and ethical - where people are both supported and challenged to be accountable
for their actions”.
Research on the Virginia Initiative with National Institute of Corrections and Urban Institute:
A major quantitative research project tracking this cultural transformation work has had
encouraging initial survey results. This is being delivered by the Urban Institute - a well respected
Washington based research think tank, with assistance from the National Institute for Corrections
and is one of the largest projects of its kind.
Harold Clark the Director of VADOC, in a Dec 2013 letter to all employees about initial positive
survey results had this to say about dialogue:
“Dialogue continues to be the vehicle we use to implement the Healing Environment, the Strategic
Plan, Re-entry programs and evidence based Practices. We are expanding the Dialogue Practitioner
programme so that all units have access to a dialogue practitioner to assist with training all staff,
continue skill building and practice”.
Massachusetts Department of Corrections:
Dialogue Associates have also been invited back to refresh the Dialogue work in Massachusetts
Department of Corrections, that has continued since they worked there in 2009. On this occasion
they are proposing training 25 Dialogue Practitioners to deepen the work across the State
Department.
HMP and YOI Portland:
Associate Partner Eagle Consulting continues to run fortnightly dialogues at HMP and YOI Portland,
and supports all those still engaged with or interested in the Threshold Dialogue we piloted in the
South West. They have also just started working with Portland extended senior management team
with the help of Jan Knake. The Governor Russ Trent has recently been transferred to HMP and YOI
Brinsford and has approached them to explore how Dialogue may help him in his new role.
Milton Keynes College:
We are developing a Dialogue training course for prisoners with Milton Keynes College and looking
to run this at HMP Oakwood.
Key Conversations in the USA: American Corrections Association Conference July 2013:
Peter Garrett and Jane Ball attended the ACA conference hosted by Chris Innes from NIC and Harold
Clarke (Director of VADOC) and ran a workshop on Dialogue Principles and Practices which was
attended by 40 people; and attended a variety of receptions and a large group session on
segregation/confinement. They made a number of key connections with the Directors at state level,
and this has already led to contracted work with the Massachusetts DOC.
Key Conversations in the UK:
Engagement with NOMS and the MOJ: Over the year a number of meetings have taken place with
NOMS exploring their proposed ‘Our New Way’ and with the MOJ regarding their Transforming
Rehabilitation agenda to explore how Dialogue would help what they are trying to achieve. This
engagement is ongoing.
Financial Position:
Given the charity's plans for the coming year, our financial position looks healthy. Operational
delivery continues to be carried out by our Associates.
Staffing:
The staff team is unchanged, Peter Garrett is Director, Jane Ball Programme Director, Catherine
Smith Administrator and Company Secretary, and Pippa Toms manages the Accounts. The Trustees
of the charity (Chris Marks, Jenny Garrett and Mark Seneschall) also remained unchanged.
Many thanks to all who have been involved with Prison Dialogue over the last 20 years and for
assisting us in getting to where we are today.
Chris Marks, Trustee
Mark Seneschall, Trustee
Jennifer Garrett, Trustee