SPARC Project
Lincolnshire Action Trust has a team of staff working in the court cells at Lincoln District Magistrates Court and on a call out basis to Lincoln Crown Court. This is the SPARC (Supporting People After Remand or Conviction) Project. If you have any questions while you are in Court, please ask the Ushers to contact the SPARC team in the Magistrates Court cells and we will come and see you and your family/friends. If you are on police remand and in the Magistrates Court cells, we will see you while you are there.
Once you are sentenced or remanded to prison, a SPARC staff member will visit you in the court cells. This is an opportunity for you to ask further questions about the prison, talk about any concerns you have and the SPARC Practitioner will ask you some questions to find out what things you will need (such as healthcare or substance misuse support) and will make the prison aware. This is to support you and make the process of going in to prison smoother and quicker. SPARC staff also have lots of information to give you about the prison, what support you can expect, prison rules and prison jargon.
If you want us to, SPARC can also speak to your family/friends in person if they are in court, or over the phone. We will not contact your family or friends unless you have asked us to and only once you have signed a form to give us permission to do so. We can let them know what has happened at court, tell them about ways to keep in touch with you, tell them what to expect and answer any questions they might have.
We will re-visit you on the next working day after you arrive at HMP Lincoln to see how you are getting on, answer any further questions you have and arrange further support for you.
