Waring Sara, Taylor Ellise, Giles Susan, Almond Louise, Gidman Vincent
Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Devon and Cornwall Police, Exeter, United Kingdom.
Front Psychol. 2022 Jul 8;13:869673. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.869673. eCollection 2022.
Managing offenders released from prison requires a multiteam system (MTS) approach, with teams from across police, probation, and other criminal justice agencies. However, public inquiries highlight current approaches are impaired by poor information sharing that compromises risk assessment and recall decisions, which can allow serious further offences to occur. Little research has focused on the causes of these information sharing difficulties. The current study draws on the perspectives and experiences of probation and police officers to improve understanding of causes of information sharing difficulties. The research is conducted within the context of a new enhanced information sharing 'Direct Access' initiative implemented in one region of the UK (Devon and Cornwall) that permits probation to directly access police information technology systems. This provides a novel opportunity to cross validate MTS theory to the real-world context of offender management and considers what works in practise to overcome information sharing challenges. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with police ( = 4) and probation ( = 7) officers. Thematic analysis revealed six themes: i) information sharing difficulties and impact; ii) causes of information sharing difficulties; iii) impact of 'Direct Access' on information sharing practices; iv) workload inequality; v) training; and vi) evolution of 'Direct Access'. Overall, findings highlight that information sharing difficulties are causes by not knowing what information to request or share, limited resources, lack of clarity about General Data Protection Regulation and concern about consequences of breaching this. These barriers can result in delays and failures to share information, which hinders the accuracy of risk assessments and ability to safeguard. Findings also highlight that providing statutory partners with 'Direct Access' to I.T systems can improve the relevance and timeliness of information. However, 'daring to share' is not enough to address trust issues without also clarifying expectations regarding information use and perceived workload inequalities.
管理从监狱释放的罪犯需要采用多团队系统（MTS）方法，涉及警察、缓刑服务机构和其他刑事司法机构的团队。然而，公开调查显示，当前的方法因信息共享不畅而受到损害，这会影响风险评估和召回决定，从而可能导致严重的再次犯罪发生。很少有研究关注这些信息共享困难的原因。本研究借鉴缓刑服务人员和警察的观点及经验，以增进对信息共享困难原因的理解。该研究是在英国一个地区（德文郡和康沃尔郡）实施的一项新的强化信息共享“直接访问”倡议的背景下进行的，该倡议允许缓刑服务机构直接访问警方信息技术系统。这提供了一个独特的机会，将多团队系统理论与罪犯管理的实际情况进行交叉验证，并思考在实践中如何有效克服信息共享挑战。研究人员对4名警察和7名缓刑服务人员进行了11次半结构化访谈。主题分析揭示了六个主题：（i）信息共享困难及影响；（ii）信息共享困难的原因；（iii）“直接访问”对信息共享实践的影响；（iv）工作量不平等；（v）培训；以及（vi）“直接访问”的演变。总体而言，研究结果表明，信息共享困难是由不知道请求或共享什么信息、资源有限、对《通用数据保护条例》缺乏明确认识以及对违反该条例后果的担忧等原因造成的。这些障碍可能导致信息共享延迟和失败，进而妨碍风险评估的准确性和保障能力。研究结果还强调，为法定合作伙伴提供对信息技术系统的“直接访问”可以提高信息的相关性和及时性。然而，在没有明确信息使用期望和解决工作量不平等问题的情况下，仅仅“敢于共享”不足以解决信任问题。
