PSO 2855 - Inside Time

PSO 2855 Page 1Sentence Planning and Offender Management(See PSO 2205)6.12 Any adjustments arising from a prisoner‟s disability need to be fed into sentence plans. It isimportant that those interventions needed to address the likelihood of reoffending areavailable to all prisoners. Sources of information and advice can be sought through specificaction and support groups some of which are listed at Annex G.Normal locationAllocation to accommodation6.13 Prisoners with disabilities need to be allocated to accommodation suitable to their needs. Itis best practice where possible not to routinely accommodate prisoners with disabilitieswithin healthcare departments, but on normal location otherwise they can miss out onaccess to all aspects of the prison regime. Support may be necessary to enable a prisonerto stay on normal location. Access to those parts of the regime identified in a prisoner‟ssentence plan is crucial.6.14 When refurbishments are being undertaken, the needs of disabled prisoners must beconsidered and accommodated. For example, this should include accessible bathingfacilities, avoiding steps in favour of ramps where possible, fitting visible as well as audiblealarms, planning accommodation so that it can be adapted to accommodate both disabledand non disabled prisoners, clear markings and signs.6.15 It is good practice to ensure that adapted accommodation is regularly checked to ensurethat it is still serviceable, to record findings in writing and to maintain up-to-date informationabout changes that have been made.6.16 Teletext TVs can be ordered for prisoners through the same channels as other TVs forprisoners. There is no additional cost.Employment(See PSO 4460)6.17 Following a health and safety risk assessment, appropriate and reasonable adjustmentsshould be made to ensure wherever possible prisoners with disabilities are not excludedfrom work. Where appropriate, adjustments to procedures and alternative formats forinformation need to be provided. A flexible approach to work placements can often allowIssue No. 295 Issue date 3/04/08