A new report on the resettlement of offenders has called on the Northern Ireland Prison Service and Probation Board Northern Ireland (PBNI) to build on their current collaborative approach.

Brendan McGuigan, chief inspector of Criminal Justice Inspection NI, said: “The path to rehabilitation and reducing risk and the likelihood of reoffending is not an easy one, but partnership working between the NIPS, PBNI and others including health care professionals and voluntary and community sector organisations around resettlement offers the best prospect of success.

“There has been much positive change since CJI last inspected this area in 2011, but more needs to be done to ensure the work undertaken with prisoners is evaluated in and outcome-focused way. And links between the role of residential prison staff and resettlement work need further development.”

In making two strategic and seven operational recommendations for improvement, the CJI report urged the NIPS and PBNI to carry out a joint study to assess the impact reduced levels of joint working had had on the operation of resettlement work and the model used to deliver it.

Ronnie Armour, head of the NI Prison Service, said: “I welcome the Chief Inspector’s comment that we in the Prison Service, and indeed our colleagues in the Probation Service, have much to be proud of in the work that we undertake to provide effective services to support the resettlement and rehabilitation of people in our care.

“The Northern Ireland Prison Service exists to help create a safe community where people respect the law and each other; challenging offenders, and supporting them to change by giving them the skills they need to resettle back into the community, is key to that.

“There will always be more that we can and should be doing and, with that in mind, we in the Prison Service are committed to a programme of continuous improvement with services to aid resettlement at the heart of that.”

Paul Doran, director of rehabilitation at PBNI, said: “Resettlement is a key element in reducing the risk of reoffending. In particular we welcome the recognition that significant progress has been made following the introduction of the Prisoner Development Model.

“Work will continue to implement the recommendations in today’s report with both the Probation Board, and our colleagues in the Prison Service committed to working in partnership to that end.”

Mr Armour added: “The recommendations in today’s report will be integrated into our programme of continuous improvement, Prisons 2020. This will ensure that the services provided by the Prison Service continue to develop and evolve to meet the changing needs of those in our care in the future.”