The first 12 months of the Derbyshire Integrated Offender Management (IOM) scheme has seen criminal justice staff and partners working with approximately 300 prolific, acquisitive and violent offenders. All are at high risk of reoffending but improving daily oversight and providing better access to a range of services across the ‘Pathways', suggests that offenders are more likely to desist from offending – particularly if they are accessed within a supportive and structured environment.
Pathways is based on a range of services including health, finance, drug and accommodation. The key is having these services available when required and support for offenders to remain in them for as long as necessary. Two-thirds of Derbyshire IOM offenders are under probation supervision but a sizeable minority are offenders released from prison without any supervision and they are managed by police staff.
Research evidence suggests that a scheme which combines a firm but fair approach with work to engage the offender, is more likely to achieve success. Probation applies the learning from ‘offender supervision and engagement' training (SEEDS) in how they work with offenders and the IOM scheme provides co-location of staff to improve information sharing and develop a positive culture. The scheme is also fully supported at a district level by community safety partnerships (CSPs) and police Safer Neighbourhood teams.
Right service, right time
Police and probation take a prominent role in managing IOM offenders but we recognise the importance of offender's accessing services at the right time. Prisoners can be introduced to a community-based mentor who will help the offender make better decisions out in the community. On day of release, some IOM prisoners are collected from a local prison and taken to their first drugs or alcohol service appointment. Furthermore, the comments and views of offenders are discussed in the IOM Strategic Group in order to shape the scheme to meet user's needs.
The key aspect is co-located staff and multiagency sharing of information in a daily tasking meeting, which means criminal justice agencies take swift action in response to new information. But surveillance and enforcement alone will not result in reduced levels of re-offending. Integrating criminal justice with Pathway services and prison and community is IOM's unique feature for success. That is why partners in Derbyshire are investing in a police officer, based in HMP Nottingham, who ensures that the right Derbyshire prisoners are brought onto the scheme, engaged while they are in prison and referred to community services.
Partners in Derbyshire provide funding (£84,000)for two posts which are key to delivery of IOM across the whole county (including Derby city). One is a police liaison officer based in HMP Nottingham, who focuses primarily on the under 12-month sentenced prisoners and the other is a prison service PPO (Prolific and Priority Offender) tracker officer, also located in HMP Nottingham. In addition, the Home Office Community Safety Fund (£82,000) has, historically, supported three community probation staff to work with partners on the IOM scheme. However, this element of Home Office funding will cease on 31 March 2013, though we will be approaching our police and crime commissioner (PCC) for support as we anticipate similar funding going to the PCC from 1 April 2013. These are the only additionally-funded posts as the scheme is primarily delivered by changing the roles of established staff and reconfiguring individual agency services. Reduced resources will undoubtedly impact the scheme in its ability to deliver the outcomes and would mean reframing the scope and intensity of the scheme.
However, we measure success in terms of a reduction in offending and given the absence of conviction data, Derbyshire IOM has offered to work with the Ministry of Justice to help all agencies access conviction data through a ‘data laboratory'. We therefore use arrest data (charged and convicted) as a proxy measure and calculate the associated cost-saving, using Home Office and HM Treasury formulae.
Reduction in arrests
Our end of first year outcomes show that comparing offending in the 12 months before they were on the IOM scheme with the 12 months following, IOM has been responsible for a 28.4 per cent reduction in arrests for all offenders which equates to a cost saving of £1.1 million to the public purse. In terms of offences, this is a reduction from 677 to 485 offences and an average saving of £3,659 per offender.
This is good news for victims, the public and local communities. As the scheme moves into its second year, with a reduction of reoffending of 32 per cent in the first three months, our renewed focus is on the offenders ‘in scope', partnership development and strategic links to other Derbyshire schemes for offenders.
For further information contact:
Michelle Collins, Assistant Community Safety Manager
Derbyshire County Council
Email: [email protected]