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In the UK, demand for the police has changed, with the majority of calls now vulnerability-related. Police safeguarding notifications (N=3,466) over a one-year period for a local authority in Wales were matched to social care records. Over half (57.5%) of notifications were referred to social services and only 4.8% received social service input (e.g. social worker intervention). Over a third of individuals had repeat notifications in the study year. Findings evidence high levels of police-identified vulnerability and an imbalance in vulnerability-related risk thresholds across agencies. Furthermore, some individuals require more appropriate action to mitigate the risk of future safeguarding notifications.

Preventing and mitigating the life-long harms associated with childhood adversity is a clear international priority. Many organisations are striving for long-term, sustainable solutions to improve the wellbeing of populations. As International trends for crime decline and demand related to vulnerability (i.e. child maltreatment and domestic violence) increases, it is essential that the police respond using an early intervention approach to break intergenerational cycles of violence.The research aimed to understand the current system for the response to vulnerability by a police force in Wales, UK. Objectives included understanding police perceptions on their ability to respond to vulnerability and identifying the current protocols for the management of vulnerability by the police and associated agencies.In October 2016 – January 2017, mixed methods research was conducted with a police force in Wales. Over 370 hours of operational policing was observed, 27 interviews and seven focus groups were conducted with police staff. Police safeguarding referral data for a 12 month period was also analysed to ascertain the scale of vulnerability.The police encounter high levels of vulnerability related demand, with over 60 000 safeguarding referrals submitted in a 12 month period. Staff held diverse levels of understanding on vulnerability and the effects of childhood adversity or trauma. A varied capacity and opportunity to assess and respond to vulnerability was also reported. Challenges included cross-organisational working, highlighting the need for a shared understanding across services.Traditional policing methods, training and systems need to adopt to this scale and type of demand. A range of recommendations have been developed to ensure policing can be more effective in preventing problems before they escalate. Policy implications include how police are trained, ensuring they respond to vulnerable individuals in a trauma-informed way. Implications of the findings for partnership working will be examined.

Aims and method To understand experience of early imprisonment in one prison under low staffing levels. A researcher, independent of the prison, interviewed each prisoner soon after reception and 3–4 weeks later. The first question of the second interview was: ‘I’d like to start by asking you about your experience of the last 3–4 weeks in prison'. Data are verbatim answers to this. Narratives were brief, so responses from all 130 participants were analysed, using grounded theory methods. Results The core experience was of ‘routine’ – characterised by repetitive acts of daily living and basic work, and little reference to life outside prison – generally resolved passively, towards boredom and ‘entrapment’. Clinical implications This ‘routine’ seems akin to the ‘institutionalism’ described in the end days of the 1960s’ mental hospitals. In an earlier study of similar men at a similar stage of imprisonment, under higher staff:prisoner ratios, experience was initially more distressing, but resolved actively and positively, suggesting that staff loss may have affected rehabilitative climate.

Background and aim Reducing alcohol misuse by male prisoners is an important global issue. Control of drinking behaviour could be a useful target for intervention in this population, and locus of control could be a causal factor in this. We aimed to assess the effect of a clinical psychologist‐facilitated group intervention on male prisoners’ locus of control of drinking behaviour. Design A two‐arm, single‐site, open, randomized controlled trial. Setting A category B local training prison in South Wales, housing about 770 mainly sentenced men. Participants Prisoners serving less than 2 years who met inclusion criteria for pre‐imprisonment alcohol misuse, alone or with drug misuse. A total of 119 were allocated to the intervention arm and 119 to the control arm; 104 and 87, respectively, completed the post‐randomization baseline interview and 68 and 60 completed a second interview approximately 4 weeks later, respectively, after intervention or treatment as usual (TAU) alone. Intervention Nine clinical psychologist‐facilitated groups in the prison over 3 weeks. Range of participants per session was one to seven, with three to five most usual. Measures The primary outcome was locus of control of behaviour (LCB); secondary outcomes included mental state generally (comprehensive psychiatric rating scale/CPRS) and specifically (Beck Depression Inventory/BDI). An integral process evaluation was conducted. Findings LCB scores decreased during the study, but without significant intervention effect [−1.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) = –5.1 to 1.6, P = 0.329]. Change among completers in the control group was from a mean score of 37.4 [standard deviation (SD) = 10.0] to 33.7[SD = 11.7] and in the intervention group from 37.4 (SD = 11.6) to 31.9 (SD = 11.8). Secondary outcomes, including change in mental state, did not differ between arms, but 686 (64%) sessions were lost, most because of ‘prison issues’. Conclusions A clinical psychologist‐facilitated group intervention did not have a statistically significant effect on sense of control of drinking behaviour among men with pre‐imprisonment alcohol misuse serving less than 2 years in a South Wales prison. The study proved coterminous, however, with 40% prison staff cuts which seem likely to have contributed to the high loss of group sessions and possibly overwhelmed any treatment effect. Intervention completion failures, previously cited as harmful, had no effect here, so the trial should be repeated when the prison climate improves.