News Archive 2009

Southampton communities have their say on Community Payback

Hundreds of people in Southampton have had their say on the best way for convicted offenders to pay back the community. They took part in a poll organised as part of a nationwide project to get local neighbourhoods more involved with the criminal justice system.

In Southampton, more than 1,780 people voted, with the majority, 974, picking Exford Avenue on the Highfield Estate in Bitterne as most deserving site for improvement by offenders.  

A team have already started work on the site – they have been clearing away rubbish from the playground and wooded area, see pictures.  Wearing high-visibility jackets and under Probation Service supervision, they removed mattresses, trolleys, electrical goods and other items that had been dumped there. 

On Wednesday 17th June , people who voted for the project were invited to see what has been achieved.

The other areas put forward in the poll will then be cleared: Wadhurst Gardens, Weston (364 votes); Daisy Dip on the Flowers Estate (320 votes); Cutbush Pond (90 votes)  and the grounds of St Francis of Assisi church in Sholing (34 votes).   

The poll was a feature of Southampton’s Neighbourhood Crime and Justice (NCJ) project, co-ordinated by Acting Inspector Kerry Loveless, from Hampshire Constabulary, who was seconded to the City Council in January to lead the project.

She said:  “Polls have been running in the 53 other Neighbourhood Crime and Justice projects set up across the country, but more people voted in Southampton than anywhere else.

“That’s great because it means communities here are taking a real interest in, and engaging, with the Community Payback scheme.

“It’s what used to be known as Community Service, and is just one of the areas we’re looking to promote through the NCJ project.”

Southampton City Councillor Royston Smith, Cabinet member for Economic Development and lead on Community Safety said: "We believe that it is important for the residents of Southampton that justice is seen to be done.

“I am delighted that the Community Payback scheme has received such a great response from local people. It is a true reflection of their commitment to improving the city that they have voted in such numbers.”

David Renouf, Assistant Director with the Hampshire Area of the National Probation Service, said:

“The offenders are paying back for their crimes and we want their work to reflect the priorities of local communities. We welcome the opportunity to take on work directly identified by residents and would encourage further suggestions.”  

In Southampton, the Probation Service supervises up to 50,000 hours of unpaid work every year. Projects undertaken include grounds maintenance; the clearing of undergrowth to make public areas safer; the removal of graffiti, and painting and decorating community buildings.

Anyone who would like to suggest a Community Payback project can call the Community Payback hotline: 02392 728400 or complete our on-line nomination form.

 

Award for Pam in hostel for ex-prisoners
 
Pam Brockwell, who has worked for 25 years in the National Probation Service’s Approved Premises (hostel), Dickson House, in Fareham, has won a national award for her outstanding efforts. She is one of just a handful of people who have been honoured by the National Approved Premises Association (NAPA), a national voluntary organisation, funded by the Ministry of Justice.
 
 “Pam is an inspiration to us all,” says Chief Officer of Probation in Hampshire, Barrie Crook. “She has never let us down, and it is thanks to her, and people like her, that our work to prevent reoffending is so successful. The efforts of Probation staff usually go unnoticed - until and unless things go wrong - so national recognition of good work like this is very welcome.”
 
Pam is Senior Support Officer at Dickson House and was nominated for being efficient, dedicated, motivated and enthusiastic with a highly developed sense of humour, essential for working in what can be a volatile and stressful environment.

Dickson House is one of the “half-way houses” to which former prisoners come after their release from jail. It is the oldest Probation-run hostel in the country, playing a vital role in preparing men – mostly with ties to the area - for living in the community again. Over the past 5 years it has housed around 500 men with notable success.

That success, Pam’s award acknowledges, is partly down to her and the high standards she sets herself. Her responsibilities range from health and safety and compiling risk assessments to trouble-free administrative support. Over 25 years she has done this in a calm, unflustered manner and the nomination for her award notes that she never let the dedication to her work falter, even when faced with extremely difficult family circumstances. Pam has had the worry of illness of her husband, who had to close his garage business in Portsmouth, and her 90-year-old father. Happily, both have now recovered, she says.

Pam adds: "I'm lucky enough to have a job that I love. Some people will see it as stressful but I enjoy working with people, whatever their circumstances, and hope in some small way that I have helped.  I'm full of admiration for what the Probation Service achieves."

 

Butler Trust award comes to Hampshire

Celebrating winning the award, Brian Leigh, programme manager, with health trainers Gail Newman and Carole Leigh.

Hampshire’s Health Trainers programme, which steers offenders towards much needed medical attention, has won one of the criminal justice system’s most prized national awards, the Butler Trust’s national award for Health Improvement among offenders.

The award was presented by Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace last week (March 18) to representatives of Hampshire Probation and the Portsmouth City Teaching Primary Care Trust PCT). The two organisations set the scheme up and now it is backed by three National Health Service Trusts across Hampshire, pointing offenders towards doctors, dentists and people who can help them with problems ranging from poor diets to addictions.
 
Hampshire Probation Area’s chief officer, Barrie Crook, was at the palace with Louise Bevan, the PCT’s Public Health Development Manager, Brian Leigh, the programme’s manager, and two of the first health trainers appointed, Gail Newman and Carole Leigh.
 
Mr Crook explains: “Offenders in the community often overuse Accident & Emergency Services and rarely take advantage of health prevention services. There is also a higher rate of suicide and mental health concerns among offenders than the general population.
 
“We know that misuse of drugs and alcohol has a direct link with crime, but poor health can also undermine the prospect of rehabilitation, reducing motivation and preventing offenders holding down a job for any length of time. For these reasons I am delighted that Hampshire’s Health Trainer project has been recognised by the Butler Trust. It is the first scheme of its kind in the country.”
 
Louise Bevan, Public Health Development Manager for the PCT, says:
 
“Health trainers are trained to help people to find the right service for them but they also have skills in behaviour change which enables them to help others to identify areas of their health that they would like to change. They then support them to carry through an action plan, identifying and overcoming barriers on the way.”
 
The success of the trainers is partly because they have an empathy with the offenders – they were in their shoes until probation staff spotted their potential and put them forward for a 21 week training course. As a result, their lives have been changed as dramatically as the lives of the people they have helped.
 
Following the launch of the scheme in Portsmouth in 2007, it has been taken up by the Hampshire, Southampton and the Isle Of Wight Primary Care Trusts. Over 800 Offenders have received guidance, help and assistance on many health related matters and now the Health Trainers are receiving up to 100 offenders a month, across the whole Hampshire Probation area.
 
Nationally, too, other Probation areas are looking at starting the scheme. Brian Leigh, who is the project manager says: "I have been approached by several other Probation areas across the Country, who all very keen to work with their Primary care Trusts and look at initiating the Health Trainers in their areas. This is a win, win situation for all concerned.” 

 

Southampton is one of 60 pilot areas for the new Justice Seen – Justice Done project being promoted by both the Home Office and Ministry of Justice.  Here, 130 members of the public have already been recruited to work with police and Southampton City Council to tackle issues of crime in their neighbourhoods.
 
An important aspect of the project is “Community Payback” – identifying outdoor work that can be undertaken by offenders and making it clear to anyone seeing them at work that this is their punishment. The offenders wear high visibility orange jackets and the words “Community Payback” are on their backs and on A-frames beside them as they work.
 
Some 3,000 of the 50,000 hours of unpaid work carried out in Southampton each year will be dedicated to this Justice Seen – Justine Done initiative. It started in the Polygon area in February when Louise Casey, the government’s Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Adviser, came to see offenders remove graffiti from the wall of an old people’s housing complex.
 
During the same day, the 130 members of the public attended a seminar on how the police, courts and local authorities can work for them. Organising the event, Kerry Loveless, local Community Crime Fighters co-ordinator, said:  “An event of this nature and size was unprecedented in Southampton. It showed that the people of Southampton are keen to address local issues and work with the police, local authority and probation in tackling them”.
 
Now, as part of this national initiative, we are inviting the people of Southampton to vote on the  projects they would most like to see offenders tackling.

 

Lock ‘em up... or change their behaviour? It’s for you to decide!

Hampshire Probation Area,  working  with Magistrates and the Local Crimminal Justice Board, launches ‘Local Crime: Community Sentence Project, LCCS’.

Community organisations looking for speakers for 2009 might well want to consider a new, free, presentation from a magistrate and a probation officer. It is an insight into why criminals might not be sent to prison, with lots of interaction with audiences. 

Some groups will have enjoyed the presentation four years ago when the courts and probation service first launched ‘Local Crime: Community Sentence’. Now the project is being re-launched with the additional backing of the Local Criminal Justice Board.  Cases will be taken from newspapers and audiences will hear details of serious crimes. But they will also hear of circumstances surrounding the crimes that rarely get into print. Then they will be asked to judge whether the local community would be best served by handing down a prison sentence, or by concentrating more on changing the offender’s behaviour.

The presentation is entertaining, but it has a serious message. The audience will hear how the court works and how offenders are dealt with.  Paul Woodman, a Probation Board Member, explains:

“This is all about improving public confidence in sentencing and raising awareness of the effectiveness of community sentences.  To reduce crime and the numbers of victims of crime, we need to change the way offenders behave. Prison has a role to play, but is not always the best answer. Often, the more effective punishment is to keep the offender working and living amongst us all while being shown how they should change.  Community sentences are tough and demanding – they might be the last thing an offender wants – but they play a very important part in reducing re-offending and protecting the public.”  

Early in the presentation there are expected to be many who want to “lock ‘em up and throw away the key…” but, by the time they have heard all the details, it’s thought they might want to think again!

Recent statistics show that frequency of re-offending after community sentences has fallen sharply - by 13 per cent. The figure now stands at 37.9 per cent.  The re-offending rate following a short custodial sentences is 59.7 per cent. In addition, these short prison sentences can lead to problems with employment, housing and family relations and there is insufficient time to tackle the causes of the offender's behaviour.

A new report called “Community Sentencing – Reducing Re-offending, Changing Lives”, highlights how community sentences play a key role in cutting re-offending.  It is available to download from www.justice.gov.uk.

To talk about the possibility of your organisation having the presentation from a magistrate and probation officer, please contact Linda Everatt, Local Crime Community Sentence Co-ordinator, email: Linda.everatt@hmcourts-service.gsi.gov.uk or call 07824 406091 or use the link of this website to request we contact your organisation.