SAFEGUARDING CLIMATE PROTESTORS

Individuals are increasingly taking climate action that results in arrest and conviction as the evidence of climate breakdown and the impact for humanity grows. This is raising new safeguarding and practice issues for professionals working in the criminal justice system, particularly probation and prison staff. 

Pre-Sentence Reports:

Following conviction, it is common for a Pre-Sentence Report to be requested to assess the risk and criminogenic needs presented by the individual convicted. However, for those convicted for climate protest offences, their situation and context is wholly different from other individuals who have committed offences for personal gain. 

Probation staff generally use OASys which is based in the 'What Works' literature and incorporates the OGRS and Risk Needs Responsivity (RNR) model to assess risk and case manage individuals. This is what is used at interview for Pre-Sentence Reports. The What Works literature was developed from extensive research identifying the intrinsic (dynamic) risk factors associated with re-offending using large samples of individuals convicted of offences. These populations of offenders, however, will not have included climate protestors. The validity and reliability of these tools for climate protest offences must be questioned given the differences in demographics, motivation and context of the behaviour. Application of inappropriate assessment tools can cause distress for individuals who are largely unfamiliar with the criminal justice system and who have very little power in this context. This will impact responsivity. The model does provide an option for professional discretion in 'unique circumstances' and climate protest likely falls within this category. This is a practice issue that professionals in the field will need to discuss with their organisations. 

Safeguarding in interview:

This issue is of particular concern for professionals as there are potential echoes of the issues regarding racism elucidated in the MacPherson report that identified the harm being done to people of colour in the criminal justice system due to ignorance and prejudices held by professionals who have power and authority. 

Where there is a lack of understanding of the context for an individual, the approach to the assessment can be emotionally harmful as well as undermine the accuracy of the report. An evidence-based approach requires cognisance of the research around climate breakdown, the consequences for humanity, and the failure of government actions to meet requirements, as noted by the Climate Change Commission and IPCC reports. To support application of this to the context for individuals at interview, there is a wealth of research on eco-distress, its origins and strategies to manage, which the Climate Psychology Alliance (see climatepsychologyalliance.org) has helpfully collated.

Without a full understanding of these, it is difficult for Probation staff to assess the responsivity issues present and it is likely that the process will have the unwanted effect of reducing an individual's readiness/ capacity to engage.

Individuals engaging in climate protest may raise child safeguarding issues at interview. There is often a motivation to protect children/ grandchildren for older protestors which, as safeguarders, Probation staff need to address and record according to organisational policy and procedure. 

In the case of younger activists, these are vulnerable individuals who professionals have an additional duty to safeguard. Children and young people are the demographic most impacted by climate breakdown, and have less power than adults. Probation staff best practice incorporates this reality into assessment and case management. 

Safeguarding and sentencing:

Climate protestors generally lack any prior criminal history, and have no experience of anti-social culture or groups. The impact of exposure to anti-social attitudes and behaviour via a custodial sentence or community supervision in group contexts needs to be noted and considered. Most individuals convicted of climate protest offences will have no knowledge, experience or strategies to identify and manage potential dangers associated with anti-social individuals and so they are more at risk of harm in these contexts. 

Media and, on occasion, politicians have used language that dehumanises and belittles climate protestors. This dominant narrative increases the risk of violence to climate protestors if they are exposed to individuals with hostile attitudes and impulsive, dysregulated behaviour in this context. 

In summary, criminal justice professionals are faced with a new and vulnerable demographic that does not yet have an established evidence-base for ethical and effective assessment and case management. We hope this page provides some consideration of the issues arising to guide professionals to develop their practice ethically and effectively. 

Photo credit Goran Horvat