Justice social work - reports and court-based services: practice guidance

5. Justice Social Work Report (JSWR)

5.1 Overview

The purpose of the JSWR is to assist in the sentencing process, provide a risk and needs assessment, which will complement the range of other information available to the court. Social workers are skilled at assessment, problem solving and devising person centred plans and require to draw on all of these skills when compiling a JSWR. In particular, the report provides information on the context of the person’s circumstances and focuses on social work interventions and how these may impact positively upon recidivism and the identified risk and need factors.

Annex 1 contains the template to be used for a JSWR and guidance notes for completion.

Annex 2 contains the template for a supplementary or abbreviated report template to be used when a full report has previously been prepared and a briefer update is all that is required by the court.

As noted previously, in order to comply with legislation, information must be lawfully sought to provide the court with the most appropriate, accurate report content as circumstances allow.

Information gathering is not a prescriptive exercise due to the unique nature of every person on whom a report is written and the particular circumstances of why they are in the justice system at the time.

5.2 Key Areas to be addressed

• personal and social circumstances, such as poverty, being homeless or living in unstable, insecure accommodation. The presence or absence of meaningful relationships should also be highlighted.
• employment, education or training and potential barriers to this such as literacy issues. Speech, language or communication needs should also be identified and explored and links to offending behaviour identified.
• the person’s understanding of how they have come to be in this situation – the context of their offence-related behaviour (which will lead to an analysis of this), their view on the impact of this on those who have been harmed by their behaviour and any reflection from them on this while also considering the age and developmental stage if this is a child or young person.
• response to previous interactions with support agencies or social work interventions – particularly any previous community disposals / custodial episodes.
• exploration of any risks present (particularly where there is evidence of imminent risk of serious harm) – and any protective factors that could mitigate these risks.
• exploration of unmet need – this can include communication or neuro-diversity issues which can present a barrier to effective engagement and understanding of the often complex processes involved in a court appearance.
• does the person have protected characteristics as defined under s 4 of the Equality Act 2010, and do these need highlighted in terms of any impact for them in relation to the offence(s) and disposal?
• the context of trauma in their life – including the presence and impact of mental health issues, substance misuse and any current treatment plan.
• potential court outcomes and impact of these on the person and those in their life – particularly any impact on partners, children or people for whom they have caring responsibility.

Prior to the first point of contact, a leaflet explaining the purpose of the report could be given to the person. This leaflet can set out both the responsibilities of the report writer and the responsibilities and rights of the individual. It should also explain the limits to confidentiality. Annex Five which was co-produced with a service user group offers a possible template which can be adapted to suit local needs

5.3 Consent

Whilst the person’s consent is not required in terms of sharing information, it is important that they are advised of their right not to consent to the information–gathering process. Where a person communicates that they do not consent to sharing information for the court report purposes, then this must be respected. They should be advised to seek legal advice on not complying - their solicitor (if they have chosen to engage one) will be best placed to explain the potential consequences should it not be possible for a court report to be prepared. Consent can also be withdrawn at any point in the report compilation process.

5.4 Third-party Information

In compiling the report, information may become known that is not from the person directly (e.g. a third-party source such as a GP, addiction service etc.). Where this is the case, each source and the information they have supplied, must be considered in terms of both its relevance and/or the sensitivity of inclusion in the report.

Where inclusion is considered to be necessary for the report, the third-party must be advised – and their consent sought – that the information will be incorporated due to the possible impact on the outcome of the case. Similar to the point made earlier, a third-party can give, not give and/or withdraw consent. Where it is the latter two options, the court must be advised that consent was sought but refused / withdrawn. Whilst it is preferable to have the consent of all parties when it comes to data sharing, there are some cases where there may be an over-riding concern to include the information in the report, e.g. public protection. In such circumstances, the third-party must always be advised of this prior to the report being returned to court.

5.5 Information of particular sensitivity

There will be situations during a report compilation where the nature of some information is highly sensitive in nature. This could be in relation to the person being harmed in a previous crime, complex and challenging aspects of their early life, issues related to adult, child or public protection. Where this is the case, the report writer must give particular consideration to the following:

• the accuracy of the information, e.g. has it / can it be verified?
• is the credibility of the report compromised by either the inclusion or omission of it?

a. if it is omitted would that leave a deficit in the required information for the court? How would the report writer advise the court of this information being known but explain why it is not included in the report?

b. if it is included, what information, specifically, should be included and what are the potential impacts of this being included in the report?

Both the omission and inclusion of information of this nature must be carefully considered and, where necessary, advice be sought from appropriate sources in respect of this, for example, a line manager. In each case, there must be a clear account of the decision on the inclusion or not of the information kept in social work records.

Where highly sensitive information is to be included in the report, the report writer must seek to mitigate possible impact on anyone affected by that inclusion. For example, in cases that relate to domestic abuse, the paramount concern is the safety of the person who has been harmed and/or those around that person (children, other family members, etc.). Where required, victim safety planning should be undertaken to ensure a multi-agency response centred around the protection of those who may be vulnerable following information disclosure.

The court’s attention should be drawn to the sensitive nature of the information within the JSWR. It is suggested that there should be a preceding statement within the body of the report in bold print requesting that the information not be divulged in open court.

5.6 Managing medical information

The principle that medical information is normally provided only with the patient’s consent applies equally to people in the justice system. There are, however, circumstances where it is necessary to disclose medical information without consent:

• when it is in the public interest to do so;
• where disclosure is necessary to prevent serious damage to health of a third party; and
• where disclosure is in the best interests of the patient.

There is NHS guidance on information sharing available at:

Intra-NHSS Information Sharing Accord 2020 (scot.nhs.uk)

In the course of completing a report, it may be necessary for the context of the report to make further enquiries about a person’s physical or mental health. A medical mandate should be completed in order to obtain the individual’s informed consent in order that medical information can be lawfully accessed: Annex Four provides an example of this which can be adapted for local needs