Change of Report Structure

Whilst making the final adjustments to my report I decided to change the structure of it so that I avoided repeating myself. To achieve this I have taken out the separate section of statistics and have encorporated them into the other sections of my report.

I have also finished writing the 'Summary' part of my Production Log and I have finished making the changes to my presentation powerpoint. The date for my presentation is the 8th May. Today I am submitting all of the work I have done towards my EPQ.

Additional Objective

Whilst receiving feedback on my report, I decided to add an additional objective to 'Discover critical views of rehabilitation.' This means that my report details all viewpoints in regard to rehabilitation. Therefore, I have added a paragraph into my report which answers this objective. I have also included more of my primary research into my report to evidence the claims and to show how the public's views of rehabilitation differ or support those of the government.

I have also completed my bibliography, resource record and production log. I am continuing to update my plan and will have this completed after my presentation. I have started to write notes on what I am going to say during my presentation.

Project Update

This week I have had my end of project review meeting with my supervisor.

This explains the successes of my project, failures and any changes I have made. It also details any additional things I am going to do, such as including more of my primary research results into my report.

I have also completed a project update which shows what I am going to do to finish my project:

This includes correctly referencing the websites I have used in my bibliography and finalising the structure of my report to limit repeatitions. I have also been updating my production log.

Report Comments

Today I received comments about the first draft of my report from my supervisor. I have changed a few words around and titled my graphs/tables with 'Figure'. I am also going to research some quotations in regard to rehabilitation so that my report contains some clear evidence in regard to my arguments.

Completed Rescource Record

Today I have finished typing up my resource record. For each resource I used as part of my research I have written what type of resource it is, how useful it was and its reliability.

I have also amended my presentation so that there is less writing on each slide. I have added the findings of my report and my conclusion which includes the answer to my question and I have also taken out the relevant sections relating to the comparison with America.

Finally, I have continued to analyse my survey respones and I have made graphs out of the answers which will form the appendix to my report.

Resource Record

Today I have continued to type up my resource record using the resources I have documented in my bibliography. For each resource I have written how it was useful to me and how reliable the resource was. This will show the variety of the resources I have used and the extent to which the evidence in my report can be relied upon due to the reliability of my resources.

This week I am also going to start to compile an appendix for my report which will contain the results of my survey and any other statistics which I have referened in my report.

Finished Report

Today I have finished writing about the support available to recently released offenders so that they can continue their rehabilitation. I have also written the conclusion to my report which states that there is sufficient rehabilitation available for offenders so that they can move away from crime. However, I also discussed that there is not enough rehabilitation for offenders which are serving short sentences even though this is the type of offender group which is most likely to reoffend.

This week I am going to finish my resource record which details which of my resources were most useful.

The support available for ex-offenders

I have now completed the aim which is on the support available for recently released offenders. I have focussed on the accommodation which charities provide for released offenders and the different training courses available to offenders. I have also used statistics to show how successful the programmes available have been in stopping the continuation of offending.

I have also decided not to write about the rehabilitation in America as I feel it is relevant for my title or in my report. Although I have made small references to elements of rehabilitation in America, for example the budget use, I am not going to write a whole section about it.

Next I am going to write a conclusion to my report which will detail whether my research has shown whether an ex-offender can be fully rehabilitated back into society.

How has rehabilitation changed

I have now completed by aim of discovering how rehabilitation has changed in the last 10 years. I have discussed the use of day centres whose influence has now been reduced and encorporated within the probation service. I have also written about how rehabilitation is becoming more focussed on giving offenders the skills they need to move away from crime. In regard to how youth rehabilitation has changed I have written about how ASBO's were used as a deterrant but have now been stopped.

The next section of my report is going to be about the support available to offenders once they have been released. I have written about how the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 has helped ex-offenders to get jobs and also about how teams within prisons help offenders to sort everything out before they leave prison. Finally I am going to write about how the charities NACRO and The Amber Foundation help to give released offenders a place to live which reduces their risk of reoffending.

Success of different programmes-Completed

Today I have completed the second aim of my report which was to discuss the success of different programmes. I have used the reoffending statistics of each form of punishment to show which one can be seen as most effective. My conclusion was that for young offenders the most successful form of rehabilitation is the lowest form of punishment. This is similar to adult offenders where the most successful programme was community sentences. This was because offenders could see how their actions have affected the community but also they would be less likely to reoffend because it hasn't disrupted their lives.

For the next part of my report I am going to discuss how rehabilitation programmes have changed in the last 10 years.

Success of different programmes

Today I have started the section on which rehabilitation programmes are the most successful. I have started my writing about community sentences and the subsequent reoffending rates for this type of punishment. I have used statistics from 10years ago to show how the use of community sentences has become more common in the last 10 years.
Then I have written about offenders convicted to a custodial sentence. I have compared the reoffending rate for this type of punishment to the reoffending rate for community sentences and also the reoffending rates for different sentence lengths. I have used graphs from Ministry of Justice reports to evidence my arguments and clearly show the reoffending trend.
Lastly I am going to write about the success of youth offender rehabilitation programmes by comparing the use of young offender institutions and community sentences.
I will then write a conclusion explaining which programme is the most successful in rehabilitating an offender back into society.

Main Report

This week I have finished typing up my first aim in my main report. I chose to discuss the different rehabilitation methods used for different age groups and sentence length. I have focussed on how education and training methods are different for different age groups and the new opportunities to work whilst in prison. I have also used graphs to show statistics of the number of offenders who have found work or education facilities when they have been released. This shows how likely it is for offenders to be fully rehabilitated back into society. For the next part of my report I am going to write about the statistical success of programmes because I feel that this continues on from the different programmes available for different offender types.

Project Update

Today I have continued to type up my main report. I have started by answering my aim 'What are the different methods of rehabilitation used for young offenders?' I am also comparing this with methods used with adults. I have used case studies to show examples of prison regimes and how this is helping to reduce reoffending.

I have also completed a project update form which shows what I have done and what I am planning to do in the next 4 weeks.

Methodology

Today I receieved feedback on the first draft of my introduction from my supervisor. This told me that I needed to encorporate all of my aims into my introduction and explain my title clearly. I am also going to write a brief sentence on why I chose to research this topic.

I have also started my methodology which will explain the different methods of research that I have used. I have explained my use of primary research through my survey, why this was important to do, the reliability and validity of it and what I would do differently if I were to do it again. Next I am going to explain which secondary resources I have used, such as the government websites and online journals. I will explain the strengths and weaknesses of these and why I chose to use them.

Finally, the conclusion of this section will detail the overall quality of my research and how it has helped me to form my report.

Production Log

Today I have typed up all of my production log so far. This details my initial ideas and any changes I have made. My main change was making my title more specific so that people knew it was offenders rather than 'people.' Also, after starting my research I found that a lot of rehabilitation is done outside of prisons so I changed my title so that it was not just rehabilitation inside prisons.

Production Log

Today I completed the first draft of my introduction explaining my topic area, my aims and what I have changed since the beginning of my EPQ.

I have also started to type up my Production Log. I had been writing in it but it will be more ordered once it is typed up. It details my initial ideas for my EPQ and details the changes which have happened. I also have comments on there from my supervisor explaining what I needed to do and how.

I also had the chance to look at some examples of previous Production Logs to see the content and level of detail in them.

This week I am going to continue to type up my Production Log. I am also going to sort my bibliography into sections such as Books, Journals etc.

Introduction

Today I have looked at some examples of how to write my introduction. I have also started to write mine. I have outlined when rehabilitation in prisons started and why the government decided to change the focusses of rehabilitation.

Reoffending Rates

Today I have researched statistics for the reoffending rates in the UK. I have looked at graphs from 2000 and 2009 and I am going to use these to compare statistics. This will show how successful methods have been and whether newer methods are more successful.

I can use these statistics to evidence the conclusion to my question as to whether rehabilitation methods help to rehabilitate offenders back into society.
These statistics also show that community sentences are more successful than short prison sentences.

Survey Analysis

Today I have started the second draft of my bibliography using Harvard Referencing:

I have also started to make some graphs showing the results of my survey. Some of them are bar graphs showing the number of people who chose that answer whilst some are pie charts using percentages. I am also going to do demographic charts to show the variety of people who answered my survey:

Finally I have researched the reoffending rates in the UK and America to use in my introduction and conclusion. This will show why rehabilitation is neccessary but also whether it is working in rehabilitating an ex-offender fully back into society.

Plan for Report

Today I have written out the second draft of the plan for my report. This contains more detail than my intial draft and shows the different sections which I am going to write.
As part of my 'Findings' section I am going to answer my aims in the order I wrote in my first plan but I am not going to sub-head them as this would interupt the flow of my report. I am going to include graphs to show evidence of my research findings.

Bibliography

Today I have started to compile a bibliography which shows all of the resources I have used.

As I continue to develop it I may order it so that all of my books are grouped together etc.
This week I am going to start to analyse the results of my survey but putting some answers into graphs and grouping the comments into similar groups.

I have also researched the One3One Solutions organisation. This is an enterprise run in conjunction with the government to get prisoners in the UK working. They provide work all over the country for prisoners in either the making or packing of products, or providing a workforce for businesses. This shows that there is work available for recently released prisoners which isn't affected by their conviction record. However, this organisation is relatively new so there are not any statistics available showing how successful the scheme is.

Statistics

Today I have looked at the Home Affairs Select Committee's Report from 2004 on prison rehabilitation: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmhaff/193/19305.htm

I have used this to find statistics showing how many prisoners are serving different lengths of sentences which will help show me why some are not receiving rehabilitation due to the short nature of their sentence. It also explains that a large number of prisoners do not have any education which highlights how important education services are in prisons. As the report was from 2004 I can compare statistics to how they are now, such as how long prisoners work for per week. There is a graph showing that female, open prisoners spent the most time completing purposeful activity compared to men who are in closed prisons spending the least amount of time. There are also written diaries from prisoners explaining what they spend most of their time doing.

I have also read a Ministry of Justice document entitled: 'Making Prisons Work: Skills for Rehabilitation.' This detailed how reoffending costs the government £13bn a year and for this to reduce, investment needs to be made in making prison regimes give prisoners the skills they need to move away from a life of crime. It was highlighted that integrating prisoners into society through education is important as this would make it easier for ex-offenders to find a job in their community. There are specific case studies showing how women prisoners achieved NVQ Level 3 certificates whilst in prison which they can use to find work when they leave. The government are also rolling out a 'virtual campus' which provides education through the internet to prisoners but also to ex-prisoners so that they still receive support when they leave and can finish their education. This will stop short-term prisoners not receiving rehabilitation because they can just continue it when their sentence is over.

Plan for Report

Today I have outlined the basic plan for my final report.

I am going to start with a brief introduction explaining what rehabilitation is and the background of it's usage in the UK.

Then I am going to answer my aims in the following order:
1) Are there different rehabilitation processes for different age groups?
2) What are the success rates of different programmes?
3) How have rehabilitation processes changed in the last 10 years?
4) How do methods used in the UK compare to methods used in America?
5) What support is available for offenders after they leave prison?

To help me answer these questions I will use case studies to show examples of methods used in specific prisons, the results of my survey to show the publics view of rehabilitation and statistics to show the successes.

Finally I am going to answer my question 'Can an ex-offender ever be fully rehabilitated back into society?' which will be a conclusion/evaluation of my report.

Resource Record

Today I have typed up all of the resources I have used for my research so far.
I have written how useful and reliable I have found them and what type of resource each of them are.
When I start typing up my report I will have to reference each resource properly showing the author and date of publication

California Rehabilitation

Today I have read an article entitled 'The California Prison and Rehabilitation System' which has told me about different offending rates for ethnic minorities. It also detailed that, as in the UK, drug offenders have to spend longer in prison yet there is not much rehabilitation available for them.

Compared to the UK, America takes a much tougher stance on punishment in that 42% of drug offenders were classed as low level offenders yet they were in jail for 6 years. This means they should have more access to rehabilitation but they are generally unable to take advantage of it due to their addictions.

The article has shown me that rehabilitation in California is controlled by the California Department for Corrections so I can going to research this faculty more. However the article showed that only 2% of the budget for prisons is spent on education whilst 41% was spent on security. This shows that rehabilitation isn't at the forefront of the departments thinking. There was also evidence which showed that inmates who left prison with a degree were 18% less likely to reoffend and the reoffending rate was just 5% for people who gained a BU degree compared to the 69% rate for people who didn't.

The article also had a case study -Delancey Street- which provides residential education programmes for offenders who want this. This makes the programmes more effective because the people are not being forced to do something they don't enjoy. Residents can also develop skills such as typing and social skills through playing sport. 80% of residents stay for the full duration of the programme.

http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/citypoverty/california.htm

Inside Death Row

Today I watched a documentory about the life of prisoners in Indiana Maximum Security Prison in America. This showed me how the men who are serving over 100 years or are on 'death row' do not have access to any rehabilititation. This means that if they ever had the option for parole they would likely be released as the same person they were before. The men were able to work, like in the UK, but only if they can show that they are no longer 'dangerous'. This means that arguably the people who need the most rehabilitation get the least.

Mid-Project Review Meeting

This week I had a meeting with my tutor to discuss what I have done so far and what I need to do to finish my project. We outlined specific things that I have found successful and some which were not successful, such as trying to find like-for-like statistics. We also wrote down what I have changed from the beginning of my project, like adding in an aim and what I said I would do at the start and which I haven't continued, such as researching terrorism and the background of rehabilitation. I chose not to research these things as I didn't think they would be relevant to bringing an offender back into society.

We also decided that I am going to reduce the wording on my presentation so that I have the ability to talk about the things listed rather than read off of the screen. I am also going to create a table and document all of the resources I have used, or not used, and explain whether they were useful, valid or reliable.

 

Aims

I have decided to add 'Research support options given to newly released offenders' to my aims. As I have researched I have found lots of information and case studies which show the level of support given to offenders when they leave prison. This will help me to determine whether an offender can be completely rehabilitated as if they are not given any supprt when they leave prison then they will just reoffend.

During my research I have found that prisons only give ex-inmates a small amount of money and they are left to decide where to live. This means that they go back to where they came from, find their old criminal friends and reoffend. It is charities such as the Amber Foundation who provide ex-prisoners with a stable place to live and help them to gain the skills needed to get a job. In my presentation I have included a video made by the Amber Foundation which shows 4 ex-offenders telling their stories of prison and what happened on their release day.

There is a large amount of support given to young offenders to make sure they don't return to crime, such as government initiatives. A lot of ex-offenders find it hard to get a job after they leave prison because they have their conviction on record. This is why the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 is important because it means spent convictions for minor offences are written off.