Home Leave Enquiries

Home leave enquiries are requested by the unit manager of the prison concerned and sent out by the secretary of the home leave committee.

Timeframe

The probation officer should reply to the unit manager within 10 working days, either:

• with the result of the enquiry, or
• if experiencing difficulty contacting the sponsor, advise the manager that the enquiry is under way.

Visit to sponsor

The probation officer must physically visit addresses given and speak to the named sponsor face to face. When visiting the address, consider:

• its location to the surrounding community
• any potential issues / risks, and
• whether the offender should be released to that community.

Advice to sponsor

The probation officer should discuss:

• with the sponsor, their role and rights as sponsor, as covered in material provided by the prison, and
• any queries the sponsor has with the prison's manager.

Contacting victims

Where a request has been made it is important that the impact of any temporary release on victims is fully covered in the report.

Sponsor and victim responses

The reply to the manager should accurately report the sponsor and victim responses.

Note: Be aware that inmates can have access to these reports.