Quaker Service
Good Practice in Northern Ireland
David Bass
Outline
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History of Quaker Service and Criminal
Justice System
Recent Developments in Criminal Justice
in Northern Ireland
Current Quaker Service projects
Restorative Justice in Northern Ireland
Origins of Quaker Service
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1969 Belfast Friends Emergency Committee
1971 Internment
Jan 1972 Canteen/Visitors Centre set up at Long
Kesh run by volunteers
1978 end of Internment
1982 Visitors centre open 6 days a week and
paid part time staff taken on. Playgroup
organised by SCF
Development of Prison Work
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1985 Pre release groups organised
1987 Maghaberry Prison opened with
Quaker Service Visitors Centre
1989 Butler Trust Award
1991 Childcare facilities in Maghaberry
Prison Visits area – first in UK
2000 Maze/Long Kesh closed
Maze Long Kesh Site
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Royal Ulster Agricultural Show
Retained historic buildings –hospital, H Block
and look out tower
Other former uses
Peace Building and Conflict Reconciliation Centre
Designed by Daniel Liebeskind Studio
Library, exhibitions, conference centre, archives
Changes in Criminal Justice in
Northern Ireland
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Good Friday Agreement
Programme for Government - addendum
Reducing Offending Strategy
Women’s Strategy
Review of the Youth Justice System
Review of Community penalties
Fine Default consultation
Changes in Criminal Justice in
Northern Ireland - Prisons
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Chief Inspector’s Report on Northern Ireland
Prisons 2010
Prison Review Team led by Dame Anne Owers
Interim Report February 2011
Final report October 2011
Estates Review
Family Strategy 2010
NIPS Strategic Efficiency and Effectiveness
Programme (SEE)
Strategic Effectiveness and
Efficiency Programme (SEE)
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No Prison Officers recruited since 1994
Equality issues
Only trained in Security
Failed to support vulnerable prisoners
Staff demoralised
Strategic Effectiveness and
Efficiency Programme (SEE)
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A service which is:At the leading edge
Example of best practice in modern
custodial services
Reduces the risk of re-offending
Makes a positive impact on lives of
individuals it works with
Strategic Effectiveness and
Efficiency Programme (SEE)
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Revised roles for Prison Officers and
Support Staff
Recruitment of new Prison Officers
Focus on Rehabilitation
New training scheme
Offender Centred approach
Maghaberry Today
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The most complicated prison in Western Europe
High security prison
Over 1000 prisoners – all men
550 on remand – highest rate in Western Europe
Fine defaulters
Over 100 lifers
Separated inmates – Loyalist/Republican
Many vulnerable inmates
What is Maghaberry like?
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Layout
Dealing with Prison authorities
Complaints System
Quaker Service at Maghabery
Today
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Visitors Centre
Transport
Services within the Prison
Family Support Group
Prison Officer training
Quaker Connections
Visitor Centre – What goes on?
It provides practical and emotional
support to the families and friends
of inmates at HMP Maghaberry.
Letter from a Mother
“To all at the Quakers.
Thank you for your kindness, compassion and
support over the last days and over the years.
The shop, the centre, the bus drivers, and
especially the family visits, which brought great
family support and bonding. We really appreciate
all that you have done.
Love and every blessing
What goes on?
Info and advice
Emotional
Advocacy
Cafe
 3 Play areas
support
Tea Bar
1 Shuttlebus
Practical Support
How
to book a visit
What
How
can I bring?
do I get there?
A Grand Day Out?
Enniskillen – Belfast bus
Belfast – Lisburn train
Lisburn – Maghaberry bus
Visit
Maghaberry – Lisburn bus
Lisburn – Belfast train
Belfast – Enniskillen bus
Arrive Enniskillen
9.25 am
12.10 pm
1.30 pm
4.45
5.15
6.05
8.20
pm
pm
pm
pm
Practical and Emotional Support
The value of :
 Cafe
and childcare
 Asking
“How are you?”
 Telling
a story
What Issues do families face?
 Family breakdown
 Drug and alcohol
 Stigma
 Mental Health
 Financial poverty
 Relief / Guilt
 Emotional poverty
 Grief
 Social exclusion
Father of an Inmate
“I have lost my son, but I
can’t grieve, because he
hasn’t actually died.”
Issues facing Children of Inmates
 Trauma
of absent parent
 Growing
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up “too soon”
Problems at school
 Bullying
 “Invisible”
 Written
Group
off?
Our Play Area
Child Centred Visits
 Focus
is on the Child
 Dad
and Children can move around
 Our
staff facilitate play
 Mums
go off with family officer
Belfast Family Support Group
 Frederick
 Share
Stories
 Provide
 Poetry
 Guest
Street Meeting House
Support
/ Exercises
Speakers
Advocacy
 Speaking
 Asking
to Prison Service
questions
 Writing
a Complaint
 Voicing
Concern/ Lobbying
Letter from a Mother
“Just wanted to say that you all do a
terrific job, and make a big difference to
a person like me. The cafe is a place of
‘normality’ in the middle of the madness.”
Think Family
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Training session for new Prison Officers
Led by Quaker Service and delivered in
conjunction with other voluntary bodies
Aim
To raise awareness of the vital role of
families in prisoners’ resettlement and
consider good practice to strengthen
family relationships
Think Family
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Link to NIPS Family Strategy
Impact on children
Impact on Partners
DVDs – A Mother’s Story and It’s a tough
time for everyone
8 Role Exercise
Providing Family Support
Supporting Isolated Inmates
‘True godliness does not turn men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it’
William Penn
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Developed in response to various studies
and reports which highlighted the
importance of families involvement with
an inmate during his time in prison
Having regular positive visits reinforces
good family relations, aids rehabilitation
and reduces the risk of reoffending
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Inmates who are visited regularly by
family & friends are 39% less likely to
reoffend
43% of sentenced and 48% of remand
prisoners lose regular contact when they
enter prison
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Inmates who receive few visits tend to
be the most unsettled or the most
anonymous on their landings
One of the main risk factors for self harm
and suicide was lack of visits and
isolation
VISITOR SUPPORT
 Providing practical and emotional support
to families and friends visiting inmates in
HMP Maghaberry
INMATE BEFRIENDING
 Providing emotional support to inmates
who receive few or no visits
A prisoner found hanged in his cell
was the 6th suicide in 18th months at
jails in Northern Ireland
“I don’t want my wee girl to
see me in here”
Inmates reporting an increase in –
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Self esteem/confidence = 100%
Something to look forward to = 100%
Ability to cope with their situation =
67%
Ability to get on better with others =
67%
“I feel more hopeful after a visit”
Quaker Care Charity Shops
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Community Service work placements
Work placements from Hydebank Wood
“ Before I came to Quaker Care my life
was falling apart…….”
“Self esteem is significantly raised….”
Quaker Cottage Teenage Project
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Cross community family
support centre
Serves the most deprived
areas of north & west Belfast
Those most ‘at risk’ or ‘in
need’
High risk of offending and
having experienced social
exclusion
70+ young people each year
80% attendance rate
The world through our eyes
‘Man on the moon’
The world through our eyes
‘Modern day Romero and Juliet ‘
YOLO –
suicide awareness DVD
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YOLO. As a group of
young people, our
lives have all in one
way or another, been
touched by suicide.
Together, we want to
raise awareness and
reach out to those in
need.
Our view
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21 young people
Experiences of
growing up in
Belfast
Story telling
Therapeutic use of
art & photography
Exhibition / Book
Our view
Story telling – means of personally expressing ones self
through the use of drawing, photographs and through
text
Quaker cottage – provided a safe and supportive
environment for the teens to reflect on their past, present
and future
Through various exercises the teenagers then began to reflect
on their life and start to put their experiences into their own
words and pictures
They soon became their own author / editor and publisher with
complete control of what was exposed and shared with others
Examples from book
‘
Barbed wire tears’
‘Friends dad, hanging
from a tree’
‘Whole face was covered in
blood’
‘Baby bump’
Sharing the story on
residential
“I enjoyed listening to other people’s lives. When telling their stories
I realized that I wasn’t on my own and people were going through
similar things. It made me feel better, I can open up more.”
Alana, 17
“I was really nervous and quite embarrassed to share my story. But when
everyone read theirs out in front of me this helped me. I felt that I could
relate to most of their stories and this made me feel more comfortable
with talking about my life now.”
Laura, 16
Every teenager got their own DVD of the residential, it captures the fun
times had and is a good reminder of the journey one took.
Hydebank Wood
YOC
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Storytelling – sharing life
experiences
Safe and trusting
environment
Art/craft/photography
Published in booklet
Exhibition /Launch in
prison
Certificate of Achievement
Follow up work with Art
Therapist
Benefits
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Validates life stories
Enables reflection
Respect - non-judgemental
environment
Builds self esteem
Sense of achievement
Encourages positive
relationships
Shared experiences
Fun
Future choices
What the young people said......
“Looking back on my story,
I feel bad. I regret all the
things I’ve done. I would like
other young people to read
it and think about what
they’re doing with their
lives. This could be you.”
“I’ve really enjoyed doing the
project and it has helped me
think about my life and what
I’m doing with it. I want to get
out and make my family proud
of me. I’ve liked the fact that I
got to share my story, it felt
good”
Restorative Justice in Northern
Ireland
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1994 Conference and subsequent research
Restorative Justice Working Group
2004 Conference – Restorative Justice, the
next decade
Restorative Justice Forum 2005
Quaker Service role
Restorative Justice in Northern
Ireland – Breadth and Depth
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Community Restorative Justice
Family Group Conferencing
Youth Justice Agency
Children’s homes
Schools
Prison Service
Restorative Justice in Northern
Ireland
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Recent events and research
Mapping Exercise 2010
A Guide for Young People
‘Celebrating Restorative Practices in Northern
Ireland’ Conference 2010
Showcasing Restorative Practices, Stormont
2012
University of Ulster Restorative Practices courses
– Diploma and Masters
Restorative Justice in Northern
Ireland
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Prospects
Launch of NIARP February 2013
All Ireland Dimension
All Ireland Conference, November 2013
Victims Research
Future role for the Forum?
The End