Aims

Criminon UK delivers distance learning courses to serving prisoners through written correspondence. Staff, volunteers and learners can expect to be dealt with respectfully and with consideration, compassion and understanding. Criminon UK will not tolerate the abuse of adults in any of its forms and is committed to safeguarding adults with care and support needs from harm.

This policy outlines the steps Criminon UK will make to safeguard an adult with care and support needs if they are deemed to be at risk or at risk. This policy sets out the roles and responsibilities of Criminon UK in working together with other professionals and agencies in promoting the adult’s welfare and safeguarding them from abuse and neglect.

Criminon UK will ensure that decisions made will allow adults to make their own choices and include them in any decision making. Criminon UK will also ensure that safe and effective working practices are in place.

This policy is intended to support staff and volunteers working within Criminon UK to understand their role and responsibilities in safeguarding adults. All staff and volunteers are expected to follow this policy.

The key objectives of this policy are for all employees and volunteers of Criminon UK to:

• have an overview of adult safeguarding
• be clear about their responsibility to safeguard adults
• ensure the necessary actions are taken where an adult with care and support needs is deemed to be at risk.

Under the Human Rights Act 1998, everyone has the right to live free from abuse and neglect. Criminon UK will not tolerate the abuse of adults in the organisation and staff and volunteers should be made aware of how this policy can be accessed.

What is Safeguarding adults?

‘Safeguarding means protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It is about people and organisations working together to prevent and stop both the risks and experience of abuse or neglect, while at the same time making sure that the adult’s wellbeing is promoted including, where appropriate, having regard to their views, wishes, feelings and beliefs in deciding on any action. This must recognise that adults sometimes have complex interpersonal relationships and may be ambivalent, unclear or unrealistic about their personal circumstances.’ Care and Support Statutory Guidance, Department of Health, updated February 2017

All adults should be able to live free from fear and harm. But some may find it hard to get the help and support they need to stop abuse. An adult may be unable to protect themselves from harm or exploitation due to many reasons, including their mental or physical incapacity, sensory loss or physical or learning disabilities. This could be an adult who is usually able to protect themselves from harm but maybe unable to do so because of an accident, disability, frailty, addiction or illness.

Criminon UK adheres to following the six key principles that underpin safeguarding work:

• Empowerment
• Prevention
• Proportionality
• Protection
• Partnership
• Accountability

Criminon UK will not tolerate the abuse of adults and staff and volunteers should ensure that their work reflects the principles above and ensure the adult with care and support needs is involved in their decisions and informed consent is obtained. Criminon UK should ensure that the safeguarding action agreed is the least intrusive response to the risk. Criminon UK should be transparent and accountable in delivering safeguarding actions.

Who do adult safeguarding duties apply to?

Adult safeguarding duties apply to any adult who:

• has care and support needs, and
• is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse and neglect, and
• is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of abuse or neglect, because of those needs.

Who do I go to if I am concerned?

The named responsible person for safeguarding duties for Criminon UK is Phil Tyler (phil.tyler@criminon.org.uk). All staff and volunteers should contact Phil Tyler for any concerns/queries they have in regards to safeguarding adults. A log of the concern must be kept.

Phil Tyler will be responsible to make decisions about notifying the prison / adult social services (for exoffenders) if required and consider alternative actions, where necessary. He will also ensure that the safeguarding adults policies and procedures are in place and up to date.

What should I do if I am concerned?

Staff and volunteers at Criminon UK who have any adult safeguarding concerns should:

1. Respond

• Take emergency action if someone is at immediate risk of harm/in need of urgent medical attention. Dial 999 for emergency services.
• Get brief details about what has happened and what the adult would like done about it, but do not probe or conduct a mini-investigation.
• Seek consent from the adult to take action and to report the concern. Consider whether the adult may lack capacity to make decisions about their own and other people’s safety and wellbeing. If you decide to act against their wishes or without their consent, you must record your decision and the reasons for this.

2. Report

• Name the person to whom staff/volunteers need to report any potential safeguarding concerns. This will usually be the organisation’s designated safeguarding lead.

3. Record

• Any incident in the incident log kept in the locked cabinet at the Criminon UK office.
• As far as possible, records should be written contemporaneously, dated and signed.
• Keep records about safeguarding concerns confidential and in a location where the alleged abuser
  will not have access to the record. Access should not be given to any unauthorised personal for
  accessing confidential information including the sharing of passwords.

4. Refer

In making a decision whether to refer or not, the designated safeguarding lead should take into account:

• the adult’s wishes and preferred outcome
• whether the adult has mental capacity to make an informed decision about their own and others’ safety
• the safety or wellbeing of children or other adults with care and support needs
• whether there is a person in a position of trust involved
• whether a crime has been committed

This should inform the decision whether to notify the concern to the following people:

• the police if a crime has been committed
• prison staff such as Offender Manager (if known) or the Governor
• relevant regulatory bodies such as the Charities Commission
• family/relatives as appropriate.

The designated safeguarding lead should keep a record of the reasons for referring the concern or reasons for not referring.

Incidents of abuse may be one-off or multiple and may affect one person or more. Staff and volunteers should
look beyond single incidents to identify patterns of harm. Accurate recording of information will also assist in recognising any patterns.

What are your roles and responsibilities?

All staff, trustees and volunteers at Criminon UK are expected to report any concerns to the named person for safeguarding. If the allegation is against one of Criminon UK staff, volunteers or trustees, seek advice from Criminon UK safeguarding lead Phil Tyler. If the allegation is against the safeguarding lead, seek advice from Alison Daniels, Executive Director Criminon UK.

The designated safeguarding adults lead should be responsible for providing acknowledgement of the referral and brief feedback to the person raising the original concern. Feedback should be given in a way that will not make the situation worse or breach the Data Protection Act. If the police are involved, they should be consulted prior to giving feedback to the referrer to ensure any criminal investigation is not affected.

Staff and volunteers should ensure that the adult with care and support needs is involved at all stages of their safeguarding enquiry ensuring a person-centred approach is adopted.

Complaints procedure

Criminon UK promotes transparency and honesty when things go wrong. All staff and volunteers should apologise and be honest with service users and other relevant people when thing go wrong.

Criminon UK is committed to ensuring that staff and volunteers who in good faith whistle-blow in the public interest, will be protected from reprisals and victimisation.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is to be used when decisions on behalf of those adults with care and support needs who are unable to make some decisions for themselves. Refer to the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-capacity-act-code-of-practice. You will need to involve an advocate if the person lacks capacity to make decisions about the safeguarding concern.

Why is it important to take action?

It may be difficult for adults with care and support needs to protect themselves and to report abuse. They rely on you to help them.

Confidentiality and information sharing

Criminon UK expects all staff, volunteers and trustees to maintain confidentiality at all times. In line with Data Protection law, Criminon UK does not share information if not required.

It should however be noted that information should be shared with authorities if an adult is deemed to be at risk of immediate harm. Sharing the right information, at the right time, with the right people can make all the difference to preventing harm.

Recruitment and selection

Criminon UK is committed to safe employment. As Criminon UK works with adults on a distance-learning basis, there is no face-to-face contact. Safe recruitment practices of volunteers include application forms, telephone interview and referees. In addition all volunteers undergo thorough training and apprenticing. As all mail is checked by prisons whether going into a prison or out, any matter of concern would be brought to the attention of Criminon UK by prison censors.

Training, awareness raising and supervision

Criminon UK ensures that all staff and volunteers are aware of the Safeguarding Adults policy. For Volunteer Tutors who directly work to support prisoners and ex-offenders; that they have a basic understanding that if they have any concern through personal data shared through lessons (e.g. the prisoner is suicidal/selfharming) that Phil Tyler is initially informed. Those adults may report things of concern to staff or volunteers who should be equipped with the basic knowledge around safeguarding adults and be confident to identify that abuse is taking place and action is required. All staff and volunteers should be clear about the core values of Criminon UK and commitment to safeguarding adults.

Prevent

Radicalisation and extremism of adults with care and support needs is a form of emotional or psychological exploitation. Radicalisation can take place through direct personal contact, or indirectly through social media.

If staff are concerned that an adult with care and support needs is at risk of being radicalised and drawn into terrorism, they should treat it in the same way as any other safeguarding concern.

Appendix 1

What are the types of safeguarding adults abuse?

• Physical abuse
• Neglect
• Sexual abuse
• Psychological
• Financial abuse
• Discriminatory
• Organisational
• Domestic violence
• Modern Slavery
• Self-neglect

However, you should keep an open mind about what constitutes abuse or neglect as it can take many forms and the circumstances of the individual case should always be considered.

What are the possible signs of abuse?

Abuse and neglect can be difficult to spot. You should be alert to the following possible signs of abuse and neglect:

• Depression, self-harm or suicide attempts
• Difficulty making friends
• Fear or anxiety
• The person looks dirty or is not dressed properly
• The person never seems to have money
• The person has an injury that is difficult to explain (such as bruises, finger marks, ‘non-accidental’ injury, neck, shoulders, chest and arms)
• The person has signs of a pressure ulcer
• The person is experiencing insomnia
• The person seems frightened, or frightened of physical contact
• Inappropriate sexual awareness or sexually explicit behaviour
• The person is withdrawn, changes in behaviour

You should ask the person if you are unsure about their well-being as there may be other explanations to the above presentation.

Who abuses and neglects adults?

Abuse can happen anywhere, even in somebody’s own home. Most often abuse takes place by others who are in a position of trust and power. It can take place whether an adult lives alone or with others. Anyone can carry out abuse or neglect, including partners, other family members, neighbours, friends, acquaintances, local residents, people who deliberately exploit adults they perceive as vulnerable to abuse, paid staff or professionals and volunteers and strangers.