The paper is informed by the findings of mixed method study of the Duke of Edinburgh intervention at selected secure estate establishments in England and Wales, drawing on the findings of an Attitude to Offending instrument (CRIME-PICS11) and accounts of young people and secure estate staff. Young people's CRME-PICS responses are examined through qualitative data from focus groups with young people and interviews with staff delivering the intervention. The findings highlight the importance study participants placed on development of interpersonal relationships between young people, and between them and others within and outwith the secure estate. The authors suggest that, notwithstanding constraints on delivering interventions in the secure estate, reparation activities can be achieved with incarcerated young people, which may assist young offenders' short-term strategies in managing day to day incarceration and longterm strategies of re-integration, acceptance by the community, and improved life opportunities in the future. The authors argue that while reparation activities, which do not involve face to face contact with victims, are often presented as a poor relative of restorative justice 'proper', they are not only more realisable in custody, but offer potential to facilitate development of fundamental social interpersonal skills which underpin young people's rehabilitation.

The Wales (Housing) Act 2015 introduced a preventative approach to addressing homelessness that impacted on prison leavers in Wales. Since the same changes will take effect in England from October 2018, this paper provides early insight into how new preventative duties have been implemented in Wales. Drawing on interviews with 114 stakeholders and 75 prison leavers, we report that the promise associated with a preventative agenda is presently not fully realised. We contend that resettlement activity might be improved if it was better incentivised and facilitated inside the prison wall. However, we also suggest the time has come for more radical options to be pursued to address homelessness amongst prison leavers. We argue against short prison sentences, which are so often causative of homelessness, and for providers of probation services to be better incentivised and resourced to take a more active role in meeting accommodation needs.

In this article we engage in a critical examination of how local authority Housing Solutions staff, newly placed centre stage in preventing homelessness amongst prison leavers in Wales, understand and go about their work. Drawing on Carlen’s concept of ‘imaginary penalities’ and Ugelvik’s notion of ‘legitimation work’ we suggest practice with this group can be ritualistic and underpinned by a focus on prison leavers’ responsibilities over their rights, and public protection over promoting resettlement. In response we advocate for less-punitive justice and housing policies, underpinned by the right to permanent housing for all prison leavers and wherein stable accommodation is understood as the starting point for resettlement. The analysis presented in this article provides insights to how homelessness policies could play out in jurisdictions where more joint working between housing and criminal justice agencies are being pursued and/or preventative approaches to managing homelessness are being considered.

Mentoring has evolved over the years to encompass a whole range of areas, from the workplace, to educational support, Probation, Youth Offending Teams and Children Looked after Teams. This report, 'Mentoring for young people leaving care', reflects and builds on research carried out by York University.Mentoring is a voluntary one-to-one relationship between the mentee and a supportive adult, being the mentor. It is important to emphasize the voluntary nature of this relationship for both parties; mentors are volunteers and mentoring works best when the mentee makes a voluntary commitment to have a mentor. Mentoring is more than befriending and aims to make constructive changes in the life and behaviour of the offender.All mentoring relationships require a high level of trust from both sides; welltrained mentors who work with mentees will have to demonstrate empathy and respect and will be positive motivators in the life of the individual. The relationship is person-centred and involves a holistic approach. The process of mentoring can and does make the difference in the life of the individual.In response to the vulnerability of care leavers, mentoring for young people who have experience of the care system, was set up during 1998 in partnership with the Prince's Trust, Camelot Foundation and National Children's Bureau. The research report specifically examined a two-year period of young people between the ages of 15 and 23, being mentored between 2000 and 2002.The research focuses on ongoing and long-term mentoring relationships lasting from the minimum of six months to the maximum of three years with young people leaving care. Focus for the mentoring relationship, was concerned with the experience of leaving care and establishing the young people within their own independent living environment. In carrying out the research, examining the experiences and outcomes of young people leaving care, interviews were conducted with young people, their mentors and project workers. A major strength of this report is that, throughout the research, the views and opinions of both the young people and the mentors were expressed.The mentoring relationships combined 'instrumental' mentoring which is linked to 'hard' outcomes, such as employment, education or training, or reducing offending behaviour, and 'expressive' mentoring linked to 'soft' outcomes, such as self esteem, confidence and personal development. The mentoring relationship was found to be important and influential in providing the young people with a different kind of support as they make a difficult transition. It was evident from the research that the mentoring relationship had a significant impact upon the mentors as well as the young people. Mentors felt that they had 'improved their skills and confidence in helping young people and, as a consequence, most wanted to work with young people' (p. 6).What was particularly interesting from the research and relevant to future mentoring projects was the suggested improvements from both the young people and the mentors ...

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