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2010 Awards winners

 

Thank you to all of the projects who took the time to nominate their work for the awards this year.  From the many nominations received, only the best were shortlisted and we were very pleased to shortlist 20 projects. From this shortlist we are pleased to annouce the following winning shemes:

 

 

Unpaid Work category 

 

The Rugmer Project – Kent Probation

Winner          

Set up in 2009, the project provides a facility for service users on Community Payback to gain qualifications whilst undertaking their sentence. Service users work to keep a collection of war machines in top condition in exchange for basic skills qualifications.  The exhibits restored contribute to the Heritage collections displayed in museums in the UK and abroad.  Visibility of Community Payback is achieved through the display and labelling of the work done on each artefact.

Offenders have the opportunity to spend 20% of their Community Payback hours gaining engineering skills, level 2 qualifications in numeracy and literacy and NVQ in Engineering Operations.  80% of service user hours are spent providing the labour to clean and maintain exhibits, which include a number of rare military tanks.

 

Adult category


The Adult category was sponsored by Probation Association

Thames Valley Restorative Justice Service –Thames Valley Probation

Winner

The programme involves restorative justice being delivered as a Specified Activity Requirement of Community or Suspended Sentence Order of the CJ Act 2003. Eligible and suitable offenders are required to undertake up to 4 days of activity. The programme works with adults ‘on the cusp’ of custody who are being sentenced for violent offences, offences of household burglary, or other offences where direct personal harm is caused, including offences of causing death by careless driving.

                                                           

The 4 days/sessions are Introduction, Preparation (for RJ Conference), RJ Conference and Review. An RJ Conference involves the victim and offender, their families, friends and supporters, meeting together to talk about:

Where the victim does not wish to take part in a face-to-face meeting, other restorative activities take place. These may include the preparation of a letter of apology.

 

Intensive Alternatives to Custody – Wales Probation Trust

Runner-up

ISAC project is part of the national Intensive Alternatives to Custody (IAC).  The project has been working in selected courts and probation offices across South Wales and Dyfed Powys since September 2008.  Primary aim of the project is to provide sentencers a robust alternative community sentence in order to divert adult offenders away from short term custody of less than 12 months.  This is provided through an Intensive Supervision Control Community Order (ISACC) which provides a combination of punishment and control in addition to rehabilitation in a community setting.  A common example of an ISAC Community Order would include intensive supervision, an electronically monitored curfew, unpaid work hours and an Alcohol Activity Requirement.  A priority service is also provided for female offenders as there is no female prison in Wales and in recognition of the diverse needs of women a partnership between the project and the Women’s Turnaround Project has been set up.

 

Education, training & employment category

 

New Skills, New Lives Project – Kent Probation and West Kent College     

Winner

New Skills, New Lives is the result of a creative partnership between criminal justice agencies; further education colleges; training providers; and employers. 

The scheme improves the skills and employment prospects of offenders on community sentences, through a comprehensive package of education, training, employment and support for offenders. 

Delivered in three parts, the project focuses on employability and training; personal development; literacy and numeracy skills. Skills for Life education is provided by a team of dedicated tutors all of whom are ex-offenders and recruited from Kent’s resettlement prisons and probation offices.  The initiative works with private and public sector employers to provide work placements for offenders.  Each of these placements is attached to a fully funded vocational qualification delivered by a Kent based training provider.  Topics include money management, retailing, IT, book keeping and food hygiene. 

Support for offenders is provided by mentoring and peer advisors from St Giles Trust.  Participating employers also receive on-going guidance and support, with account management from an education provider and relevant criminal justice agency.

 

Children & young people category

                                                                       

Burglary Programmes - Programmes Team, Leeds Youth Offending Service

Winner

In late 2009 the Council’s Comprehensive Area Assessment identified burglary as a Red Flag Offence in Leeds due to the high rates of burglary offences in the city compared to other areas of the country. 

Leeds YOS took on the task of creating a substantial community intervention, to work with young people convicted of burglary offences, which would work on preventing re-offending and be available as a sentencing option to the courts providing an alternative to a custodial sentence. 

3 burglary programmes have been developed which are available as sentencing option at court, with awareness training having been delivered to court magistrates, case workers and pre sentence report writers.  Packages to reduce offending behaviour in relation to burglary are:

  

Pre-Reprimand Disposal (PRD) –  County Durham Youth Offending Service

Runner-up

With commitment of colleagues in County Durham Youth Offending Service and Durham Constabulary, a creative solution to improve outcomes for young people and reduce the number of first time entrants to the youth justice system has been developed and implemented – PRD. Young people who enter the criminal justice system for low level offences risk limiting their employment opportunities due to a criminal record.  PRD was developed to improve young people’s chances by ensuring their needs are identified and met and thus avoid being criminalised.  The programme is voluntary and offered to young people who commit their first offence and who otherwise would receive a police reprimand.  PRD ensures interventions are based on assessment via the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and Onset, are effectively aimed at preventing further offences being committed by providing early intervention to address identified needs.  Interventions include; offending behaviour, welfare need; family support; and restorative justice. 

The unique elements of PRD include; the use of CAF to assess needs; the use of police bail until PRD is completed; the integrated approach of assessment and delivery of intervention with partners; restorative justice; and robust leadership and monitoring arrangements. 

 

Women’s category   


The Women category was sponsored by Corston Independent
Funders' Coalition.                                                         

West Yorkshire Probation and TWP Plus - Together Women Project Yorkshire and Humberside             

Winner

TWP supports female offenders and women at risk of offending.  Previously a successful government demonstration project, TWP is now an independent charity with centres in Leeds, Bradford, Doncaster, and an outreach centre in Keighley and New Hall prisons.  TWP centres are gender specific ‘one-stop-shop’ which supports vulnerable hard to reach women to tackle multiple and complex issues which trigger offending.  TWP Plus is a gender specific offender management model – using NOMS offender management model principles and is the first area to invest in a women’s centre to deliver offender management to women at a one-stop-shop centre.

The scheme aims to deliver intensive interventions to high risk offenders and those women with the highest levels of criminogenic needs.  TWP key workers and offender managers work together to provide holistic end to end offender management.  They work together with the woman to identify what community support needs, services from one stop centres and one to one support from both key workers and offender managers are required.  Specialist offender managers are able to learn from best practice from TWP and TWP is able to learn from West Yorkshire Probation how to manage women offenders on a statutory basis. 

TWP plus provides:

 

Adelaide House Women’s Approved Premises & Outreach Project – Liverpool Diocesan Council for Social Aid Adelaide House   

Runner-up

Liverpool Diocesan Council for Social Aid Adelaide House has a long history of working with disadvantaged, socially excluded women who often have a range of complex needs including but not exclusively, historic/current substance misuse; victim of sexual and/or physical violence, mental/physical health issues; family and/or relation problems; offending behaviour; street working.  A key element of the programme includes assisting women to build confidence and self esteem.  A personal development programme is put in place to help individuals to develop interpersonal, analytical and organisational skills.

The Community Order which is supervised by an offender manger will contain a Condition of Residence to reside at Adelaide House Approved Premises for a period of between 6months to 2 years.  Prior to the court making the order Adelaide House request a 3-4 week Bail Assessment period to assess the women’s situation and put in place a support and risk assessment measures which will give the court confidence in making the order. 

Adelaide House works in partnership with the Lucy Faithful Foundation in respect of working with women who have sexually offended against children.   It also works with Merseyside Probation Trust to deliver The North West Achieve Women’s ETE Project – women undertake basic skills assessment and subsequent tutoring, working towards level 1 & 2 literacy and numeracy.



The Community Programmes Awards 2010 are supported by the Persula Foundation.