C HAPTER 25. H OME LEAVE AND TEMPORARY CONDITIONAL RELEASE Almost all prisoners will be released back into the community at the end of their sentences. Home leave and arrangements for temporary release on parole offer ways in which prisoners may begin to get used to the outside world again and start rebuilding their personal and work relationships. Such procedures also provide a way of testing a prisoner’s response to life in society before final release is granted. PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS It would be helpful to the trainees if these were presented visually and then discussed. Ensure there is ample time for comment and questions after each one. TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION A list of topics is provided in the Manual. Methodology: Divide the trainees into small groups for discussion. Each group should be given two of the topics to discuss. A brief reporting back session should be programmed. Points to be highlighted/suggested areas for discussion: 39. – Home leave and temporary release are generally short periods and often designed for a particular purpose; 39. – It would be useful for prisoners to have a prepared programme of things to see or do in order to have a structure to adhere to; 39. – Prison staff must be realistic about the likelihood of celebrations taking place during the period of temporary release and prepare released prisoners for the difficulties they might incur; 39. – A list of possible contacts on the outside would be useful for prisoners; 39. – Risk assessment procedures can be developed to improve the success rate; 39. – Prisoners facing the opportunity of release can be spoken to about the responsibilities they carry on behalf of themselves, their families and their fellow prisoners; 39. – A support network in the community can be set up where released prisoners may seek help; 39. – Family members and friends can be prepared for the temptations which might exist for the released prisoner; 39. – Prisoners who commit offences while on leave have failed again; they have let themselves down as well as all the people associated with them. This has to be acknowledged. Each jurisdiction will have a scale of punishments for the offences; 121