Returnee Integration
What is it and who is it for?
This is a caseworker programme of activity aimed at working with those individuals, as identified by statutory and local authorities, who have returned from overseas conflict areas such as Syria and/or Iraq. These individuals will likely be residing also within the criminal justice system, but they will be allocated a designated member of the FAST team who will, working with statutory organisations, the individual’s family and community organisations, develop and implement the best possible plan to re-integrate them back into British society. Each individual programme is likely to last between four to six months.
Why is this an issue?
At the height of its influence, almost 1,000 UK citizens went to Syria or Iraq to join ISIS. The majority of these men and women are trying to return to their home country, the UK. Returnees and their families experience major barriers to reintegration, with many still holding extreme beliefs or whose relationship with their family and the community they used to be a part of damaged to an extraordinary degree. These barriers are complex and multiple, but if these returnees are going to be a positive part of British society in the future, then they will need careful support and a multi-agency approach to ensure this is done in a well managed and effective way.
Who should fund this type of work?
Ensuring returnees or those returnees entering mainstream society after a custodial sentence is a statutory responsibility, therefore we look to work with UK government departments and also local authorities.