Introduction
This topic provides information relating to managing transfers into the area, and includes responsibilities for managing the transfer.
Service manager actions
Upon receiving a request for transfer into the area, the service manager in the receiving service centre should:
- consider the request for transfer e.g. is the proposed address appropriate; can the special conditions be met? and
- approve or decline the transfer.
Note: Provide full reasons if the transfer is declined (include details in IOMS casenotes).
If transfer approved
Once the service manager of the receiving service centre gives approval for transfer, the responsibility for managing the sentence or release of an offender is transferred to that service centre.
Documents received
The receiving service centre will receive the following documentation when a transfer into the area is processed:
- a transfer assessment from the transferring probation officer, and
- the offender???s paper file.
Note: The transferring probation officer will have completed all offender records in IOMS, including an event-based offender plan review.
Next steps
Staff at the receiving service should:
- record in casenotes that the file has been received
- enter details of the new address, and
- confirm whether the offender reported as directed.
Has the offender reported as directed?
- If yes, the transfer is complete.
- If no, advise the originating service centre, so that they know to initiate breach action.
Note: If the offender does not comply with the ITR to the receiving service centre, breach action is the responsibility of the originating service centre, not the receiving service centre.
Process
The following table outlines the process for transferring the management of an offender???s sentence/release into the receiving service centre.
|
Stage |
Description |
| Administrative support staff |
|
1 |
Within 48 hours of receipt of transfer documents:
- confirms the transfer by recording it in IOMS, and
- passes the offender's file to the service manager for allocation.
|
| The service manager |
|
2 |
- Checks that:
- the offender???s file contains all the relevant documents, and
- the documents are complete and up to date.
Note: If anything is missing or insufficiently detailed, the service manager obtains this information from the originating service centre.
- completes an OWS assessment, and
- reviews the offender???s file and determines the probation officer most suitable for the offender (if this was not done at the time the transfer was accepted).
|
|
3 |
- Passes the offender???s file to the allocated probation officer, and
- advises administrative support staff of the allocation.
|
| Administrative support staff |
|
4 |
Update IOMS to include the allocation of the offender to the probation officer. |
| The probation officer |
|
5 |
- Reviews the offender???s file and the transfer assessment, and
- prepares to induct the offender into the receiving centre.
|
|
6 |
Checks the written ITR in the file. Should the offender have reported by now?
- If yes, go to stage 7.
- If no, wait for the offender to report as normal. This completes the process.
|
|
7 |
Checks IOMS ???report-in??? for the sentence. Has the offender reported?
- If yes, they review the file in preparation for the next scheduled report.
- If no, go to stage 8.
|
|
8 |
- Contacts the supervising probation officer at the originating service centre to advise that the offender has not reported as directed, and
- requests the originating service centre to initiate breach action.
|
Unauthorised transfer
An offender may report to a service centre when they are not allocated to that service centre due either to:
- the first report being outside the area where the offender was sentenced, or
- an unauthorised transfer.
In both of these cases:
- contact the service centre to which the offender is allocated to discuss and agree appropriate immediate action (including issuing next ITR for appropriate location), and
- ensure that the full transfer process is followed.
Reporting before transfer processed
If an offender reports to the receiving service centre before the transfer has been processed, the duty officer should:
- contact the originating service centre to get an estimate of when the transfer documents should arrive, and
- instruct the offender to report at a time later than the estimated time when the transfer will have been processed (this should be no later than 7 days).
Note: This instruction must be given using an IOMS ITR.
