Mentoring Adult Offenders: a silver bullet? - University of Leeds

Dr Anthea Hucklesby and Dr Emma WincupCentre for Criminal Justice StudiesUniversity of Leeds, UK

Background: the rise of mentoring, the perceivedadvantages of mentoring and mentoring as aconcept (EW) Findings from our three evaluations of mentoringschemes for adult offenders (AH) Concluding comments (EW)

Long history but rapid growth in mentoring in UKand elsewhere across all areas of public policy Upwards of 10,000 projects in UK (Mentoring andBefriending Foundation , 2010) Found in all areas of criminal justice, especially youthjustice Examples with adult offenders: Bail (Ex) prisoners Community sentences Offender management

Fits with policy agendas (New Labour/Coalition) Tackling social exclusion Promotion of marketisation Enhancing the role of the voluntary sector Civil renewal/active citizenship/Big Society Need to reduce public spending and managegrowing demand for criminal justice services Inherent appeal: ‘strong face validity’ High expectations : seemingly straightforwardsolution to complex problems

Helps adult offenders comply with conditions/requirements, access services and supportsdesistance Continuity of support throughout and beyondthe criminal justice process Cost-effective Value-added (additional resources to plug gapsin provision) Support /assistance is qualitatively different fromthat provided by paid staff

Lack of a universal definition but some consensus re:defining features/typical practice One-to-one relationship, freely entered into andbased on trust Mentor is typically a volunteer who uses theirexperience to act as a positive role model tosupport an individual to achieve specified goalsover an extended period of time Typically underpinned by a ‘social deficit’ model Mentoring with adult offenders problematisesaccepted wisdom with respect to mentoring

Target groupStatutory Project Voluntary project Bail SchemeShort-termprisonersAll prisonersBailed defendantsManagement Probation Two VCS agencies VCS in partnershipwith two other VCSMentoring Contract In house HybridNo. of agencies 4 2 1Referrals 100% Voluntary 100%Paid staff Yes No YesVolunteers Yes Yes YesMatchingWith organisationnot mentorWith mentorIn prison No Yes N/AContinuity throughthe gateNo Yes N/AWith mentorDuration 12 weeks Unlimited Time on scheme

One to one relationship‘Advise, assist and befriend’Positive role modelMore experienced mentors the less experienced Older mentoring the young Mentors often youngMatching mentors and menteesGender and ethnicityMismatch between mentors and menteesRisk issuesPeer mentoring OffendersConfidentiallyInformed consentVolunteersTime limits

Small numbers Limited contact Small number of highly valued mentoringrelationships Befriending rather than mentoring Meetings Lacked a clear focus Social occasions Limited structured activities Short-lived No exit strategy Little evidence of tangible outcomes

Individual issuesRealities of individual’ livesDifficulties of keeping in contactLack of motivation/coercionStructural issuesSet up timeGap between demand and supply Challenges of recruiting, training and working with volunteers Existing commitments Challenges of geography Challenges of working with criminal justice agencies How to keep mentors interested.Measuring effectivenessPerformance measure - take upLack of clarity about what constitutes an effective outcomePoor record keeping

Attempting to narrow the gap betweenexpectations and practice? Developing the evidence-base? Reflecting on the role of mentoring incriminal justice? Developing its theoreticalunderpinnings? The Good Lives Model(Tony Ward and Shadd Maruna)