Why Dialogue in prisons?

The are four main reasons why we have been developing dialogues and transferring the skills to run them in prisons during the past 15 years:

• To humanise prisons for all who live and work in these fragmented establishments 
• To enable under-performing prisons to excel
• To realise end-to-end offender management in support of sustainable resettlement through Threshold Dialogues 
• To develop executive level staff and train senior managers of prison and correctional systems to talk and think together well in support of resettlement

To expand a little on each of these:

HMP Blakenhurst

Prison Dialogue was commissioned by the then governor Peter Siddons to introduce dialogue work into HMP Blakenhurst. This provided purposeful activity for a large number of prisoners who were not held in the local prison long enough to benefit from accredited prison-run courses. The dialogue ran for two consecutive days each month and involved 20 prisoners with 2 or 3 uniformed staff and a senior manager from the prison.

HMP Dorchester

Prison Dialogue has been working at HMP Dorchester since 2004 with a variety of initiatives.  These include:

• Governor and Senior Management Team coaching, including off-site sessions to develop strategy
• PO coaching including off-site sessions to design roles and accountabilities
• SO development (Wing Forums)
• Mixed staff dialogue sessions, on and off-site
• Staff/Management Dialogues
• Staff/Prisoner Dialogues to determine needs analysis for Education
• Systemic support through the Performance Improvement Plan
• Staff Party to celebrate the audit success attended by over 60% of staff of uniformed staff
• Healthcare PCT and Prison Service Management partnership in practice intervention
• Threshold Dialogue – refer to sections on PPO Pilot and Bournemouth Threshold Dialogues

Further details on this pieces of work and the theory behind them will be available in due course.

HMP Guys Marsh

Threshold Dialogue sessions started at HMP Guys Marsh in July’08. This intervention is taking place in partnership with a second prison, HMP Dorchester and with the Police taking a lead amongst the community agencies.  Refer to Bournemouth Threshold Dialogue.
Further information will be available shortly.

HMP Long Lartin

Prison Dialogue worked at Long Lartin between 1995 and 2000 undertaking a range of work including:

• Dialogue groups, weekly, for prisoners and staff facilitated by Prison Dialogue
• Cultural change work and opening of Perrie Wing
• Defusing cycle of violence on F Wing

Details and reports on these activities will be available in due course.

HMYOI Portland

Prison Dialogue worked at HMYOI Portland in 2005/6 doing several pieces of work including

• Benbow Wing – staff relationships (SMT, POs, SOs and staff)
• Strategic Vision work with the Governor and SMT 
• Transition Session over 3 days for the outgoing and incoming Governors
• Interview of Governor Steve Twinn on his retirement (after 40 years of service)

Details of these pieces of work will be made available in due course.

HMP Rye Hill

Prsion Dialogue has been working at HMP Rye Hill since 2007 including the following pieces of work:

• Coaching SMT through transition of Governors
• Coaching new Governor
• SMT away day
• Participative IEP review including views of staff and prisoners
• Staff new recruits initial training course including prisoners and recruits in scenario work

Details of these pieces of work will be available in due course.

HMP Whitemoor

Prison Dialogue worked at HMP Whitemoor between 1993 and 2001, including the following pieces of work:

• Weekly dialogues for staff and prisoners on the ‘main’wing
• Weekly dialogues for staff and prisoners on the vulnerable prisoners wing
• Weekly dialogues for serial sex offenders
• Dialogue work with prisoners during the Throughcare Conference

Reports to the prison Through-care Committee will be available in due course.