REDUCING THE RISK OF REOFFENDING FROM DAY ONE

Sodexo runs a number of UK prisons and focuses on rehabilitation from the moment a sentence starts. They deliver accredited training that’s proven to reduce reoffending by helping residents to improve self-control and build positive relationships.

Quality control falls to their Treatment Managers. Every session is recorded so they can monitor the contribution of participants and the performance of the facilitators. When one of the modules gets completed, they also complete a progress report for the parole officer.

Before Media Manager, quality assurance was far from streamlined. Hannah Johnson is the Programme Manager at HMP Forest Bank and leads a team of facilitators:

“We’d have to use camcorders, burn the recordings to DVD and store them in a locked cupboard in the treatment room. With three group sessions running each week, it took up time, took up space and made playback really hard as only Treatment Managers had the keys.”

INTRODUCING A CLOUD-BASED SYSTEM SECURELY

Media Manager was rolled out successfully in September 2020 at three of Sodexo’s prisons: HMP Forest Bank, HMP Peterborough and HMP Northumberland.

Now, facilitators can set up using a lightweight tripod and secure tablet then record high quality audio and video. The Treatment Managers can then:

• Connect the tablet to the internet and upload the session to Media Manager
• Review the session and complete any notes or reports
• Enable secure access for facilitators and Her Majesty’s Prisons & Probation Service
• Get instant answers to simple questions, like the timing of a particular session

“It’s made such a difference,” says Hannah. “Before, if HMPPS requested a copy of a session you could spend ages finding it then post it and hope it didn’t get damaged. Now, we’ve got high quality, accessible recordings that we can locate, playback and pause from one screen.”