Agenda item

Kent Probation Service - prevention of future generations offending

Kent Probation Service will report on the work undertaken with families to prevent future generations offending.

 

Minutes:

Discussion:

 

A Director of Kent Probation Service, Maurice O’Reilly, gave a presentation to the committee which included:

 

·        the definition of domestic abuse, together with figures of the numbers of male and female perpetrators and victims

·        Kent Probation workload currently stood at 4,500 (75%) offenders located within the community and 1,500 (25%) in custody

·        ‘Prospects for Success’ women’s project – this had been a very successful project with 12 women based in Chatham which the service hoped to now roll-out across Kent, for use as an alternative for offenders instead of entering the criminal justice system

·        ‘Place 1’ – for short-term “revolving door” prisoners (offenders who serve a high level of short sentences and immediately re-offend on release from prison.) This project, together with a number of partners, escorted offenders from prison and immediately linked them into accommodation, benefits and job interviews to prevent re-offending

·        ‘Place 2’ – for families with intergenerational involvement with agencies and others. The partnership working on this project had identified 9-10 problem families in the Medway area with multiple agencies/services working with them, where there was likely to be duplication and crossover of work by the agencies and where there was or had been inter-generational agency involvement including offending

·        future work for the Probation service included engagement with the health service

·        the government’s “Troubled Family” agenda.

 

The committee briefly discussed the “Circles” project for sex offenders and funding for high-risk sex offenders.

 

The Director was asked for further information on the ‘Place 2’ project and informed Members that a number of meetings had been held between the police, social care, housing and the probation service where 500 – 600 families known to the agencies had been considered and 9-10 families chosen for this project. However, the health service had been absent from these discussions but a meeting had now been arranged to update the service on the work carried out to date. The committee was advised that now the families had been identified, the partnership needed to look at ways of taking the project forward. The government had recently announced its “Troubled Families” project with funding of £200 million. The project would submit a bid to this fund and Medway Council’s Assistant Director, Inclusion and Performance, was leading on this.

 

The Director was asked what work was being carried out for male offenders outside of the projects mentioned above. He advised that the government had made the priority clear – to reduce re-offending. Kent Probation service was looking at making this more focussed and looking at offenders committed to change their ways. Other offenders would be managed by reducing the risk of them re-offending, which involved work with other agencies. There were 40-50 probation officers engaged with these offenders but not for 24 hours a day and the local community and extended family of the offender were able to help with this, as the service needed to engage whatever resource it could.

 

Decision:

 

The Director of Kent Probation Service was thanked for his presentation.

Supporting documents: