Our Justice Social Work team provides support to people who are in prison in the Stirling Council area. This support is known as prison throughcare, and it covers the period:
- during a person’s sentence
- after they have left prison
The type of throughcare a person receives will depend on:
- the length of their sentence
- whether the court imposed compulsory supervision
Statutory throughcare
If the court imposed compulsory supervision, the person in prison will receive statutory throughcare.
The aim of this support is to:
- help individuals and their families to prepare for release and settle back into the community
- increase community safety and public protection by helping to reduce the risk of reoffending
- ensure all high-risk individuals are supervised effectively after their release
Supervision after release is carried out by social workers in our Justice Social Work team. They'll contact the court or parole board if the person they’re supervising:
- reoffends
- breaches certain conditions
- behaves in a way that causes concern
The court or parole board will then take appropriate action.
Voluntary throughcare
If the court did not impose compulsory supervision, the person in prison will not receive statutory throughcare. However, they can still request support from our Justice Social Work team. This type of support is known as voluntary throughcare, and they can access it:
- whilst they are in prison
- for up to one year after they have left prison
The aim of this support is to:
- help individuals and their families to prepare for release and settle back into the community
- increase community safety and public protection by helping to reduce risk of reoffending
Voluntary throughcare does not involve supervision after release.