News Archive 2008

 

CITIZENS PANELS WILL GIVE COMMUNITIES MORE SAY ON WHAT OFFENDERS DO.
                      
Hampshire Probation Area is one of six probation areas in England and Wales to be piloting Citizens’ Panels.  The panels will give communities more say in the type of unpaid work offenders carry out in the community. 

Citizens’ Panels will be trailed in Portsmouth and enable members of the public to consult with their local council and probation services to identify work that needs to be carried out in their area to improve public safety and the environment.  Projects could include clearing overgrown public areas and footpaths, removing graffiti, painting and decorating community buildings.

Chief Officer of the Hampshire Probation Area, Barrie Crook, says:

"Unpaid Work in Portsmouth has always had a high profile and we have already achieved a great deal for community organisations, schools and charities.  Portsmouth City Council acknowledges that this work has actually reduced the fear of crime in the city. This is our aim - for offenders to visibly give something back to the communities where they have committed crimes. Now we look forward to working even more closely with everyone, undertaking more projects that you bring to our attention."

The pilots build on the Community Payback initiative by establishing and encouraging further channels for public consultation, as members of the public will also be able to express their views through neighbourhood forums, which will be operating during the six month scheme. 

There is an existing hotline for the public to put projects forward – 023 9272 8400 – but the Portsmouth team say they look forward to the new emphasis on community action groups working with the probation service to identify work that needs doing.

Speaking at the launch of the Citizens’ Panels today, Justice Minister, David Hanson, said:

“Citizens’ Panels will put the public at the heart of decision-making in their local communities, allowing them to have more say on the type of work that offenders carry out.  Much of the work is directed towards projects that improve community safety and reduce the likelihood of further offending.

"Building on recommendations in the recent Casey Review, we are strengthening community sentences in the country to make them tough, visible and effective. Just as we are doing more to get criminals to make reparation to the victims, it is only fair that they should pay back to the communities.”

Hampshire Probation Area is pleased to have been selected for this pilot and looks forward to working even more closely with Portsmouth City Council, local police and other agencies.

For more information about the scheme and what Offenders on Unpaid Work can do for local communities contact 023 9272 8400.

 

LAUNCH OF THE HAMPSHIRE PROBATION AREA & HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY CARE TRUST'S HEALTH TRAINING SCHEME.

Wednesday, 8 October,  at the Walton Room, Winchester Guildhall.

Hampshire Primary Care Trust and Hampshire Probation Area have launched an offender health training scheme with ex- offenders turning offenders away from crime by tackling health and addiction problems. They are helping offenders on community orders, and on release from prison, break the cycle of addiction like drink and drugs and providing advice and guidance on healthy living alternatives.

Five ex offenders are funded by the Hampshire PCT to work in Probation Offices. They undertake a 21 week training and development course. In total, sixteen health trainers are working in Havant, Gosport, Fareham and Aldershot as well as Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight - all funded by the locality PCT's.

This new work has been celebrated with a presentation of Royal Institute of Public Health certificates to all the health trainers in Hampshire and Southampton who have qualified.  HPA's Director of Offender management, Chris Mitchell says the plan is to have the trainers in all probation offices soon.

He explains: 'After 30 years of service, this is one of the best initiatives I have been involved with. It provides life-changing opportunities for the ex offenders, some of which have gained paid employment for the first time in their lives, and it provides health advice for those people most excluded from accessing health services.  

“The health trainers, being ex offenders themselves, can immediately understand these issues because in many cases they have experienced the same problems. They are trained to point people in the right direction and provide support during a treatment phase. It might be as simple as finding a dentist and going with them - it's hard to get someone to think positively about finding a job if they have low self esteem because they haven't been to a dentist for years and they are ashamed of their appearance - or it is recognising the impact of more serious issues like drug dependency.”

Dr Christine Jackson, Area Director for Public Health in Hampshire PCT says: ‘The Probation Health Trainers are part of a wider network of Health Trainer Services commissioned by the PCT in Hampshire. We know that offenders experience higher levels of poor health and we are committed to helping them gain access to mainstream services, to improve their self esteem and contribute to reducing re-offending. The probation service health trainers provide health advice to those most excluded from accessing health services. Many offenders do not have a GP or dentist and a far higher percentage of offenders smoke and are unfit.

Typical of the health trainers is Dave. This is the first job that Dave has ever had. He is in his late 20's and has lived on benefits all his life with addictions to heroin and alcohol. He is proving to be a first class health trainer and now he has also secured other work for a local organisation that deals with substance misuse and accommodation problems.

Cases they deal with are like this:

A young offender was sleeping rough under a public building. He had previously been sectioned as a depressive; his doctor had given up on him. The health trainers found him a new doctor. He was obviously homeless and an alcoholic – they helped him find emergency accommodation and got him on to an alcohol treatment programme. That young man is now at college and the team believe that he has enough will power to stay the course.

This new Hampshire scheme has been seen as so successful that plans are already underway to extend it to the Thames Valley, Warwickshire and Welsh probation areas. Chief Officer, Barrie Crook, said he was proud that the scheme grew from a meeting in his office. Ultimately, it is expected to be adopted nation-wide.