Reducing Re-Offending in Newcastle
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Spotlight on Offenders
A pilot scheme to reduce the number of criminals in Newcastle who re-offend is proving to be successful.
Run by Safe Newcastle partners, Northumbria Probation Trust and Northumbria Police, the scheme targets high crime causers who have been released from prison following a short prison sentence. The aim is to reduce the re-offending rates of criminals by combining two approaches. The first approach is to monitor the offenders’ bad behaviour and hold them to account for that. The second approach is to motivate them to access services that support their rehabilitation and supports their good behaviour.
Called the Non-Statutory Targets Pilot (NST), the probation and police have worked with 28 offenders over a period of six months. Around half of those involved in NST have stopped their offending completely. Of those who have gone on to re-offend, they still showed a significant reduction in their criminal activity. Those crimes committed also tended to be of a minor nature.
Steve Gilbert, Reducing Reoffending Manager, Northumbria Probation Trust stated “Previously, only offenders who were released from long term sentences were given any type of support. The pilot scheme that we are running also works with those who are released from short term sentences who, judging from previous behaviour, are much more likely to go on to re-offend. By providing a service which is not dependent on the type of sentence that the offender has served, we hope to bridge the gap in traditional probation support.”
“Police intelligence suggests that there are up to 50 prolific offenders in Newcastle that could benefit from this scheme.”
Jan Kelly, Reducing Re-offending and Anti-social Behaviour Co-ordinator for Safe Newcastle, says: “The results of this pilot scheme are very encouraging and proves that this combined approach produces real changes to criminal’s behaviour. To run this scheme we have two dedicated officers from the Probation Service and a police officer. The majority of the scheme’s time limited funding has come from the Police Authority and Area Based Grant. However, the future of the scheme is very much at risk. ”
Neither the police nor probation is funded to deliver this work and cutbacks by the coalition Government means that the funding streams previously available have gone. Lead officers from probation, the police and Safe Newcastle are actively looking for alternative sources of funding to ensure the people of Newcastle benefit from the success of this approach.
Cllr Anita Lower, Chair of Safe Newcastle and Deputy Leader of Newcastle City Council said: “I am very pleased with the excellent work that has been put into developing this pilot. The results speak volumes on how this type of targeted approach can produce real results that make a difference, not only to the offenders, but also the people of Newcastle. I hope that further funding can be found so that Safe Newcastle partners can continue to work towards reducing crime in the city.”
For further information please contact: Jan Kelly, Reducing Re-offending and Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator , Safe Newcastle
