Motivation through mentoring

The Catch22 Mentoring Service is a pilot scheme, which is helping 50 female offenders subject to community sentences turn their lives around. It is commissioned by the London Probation Trust and delivered by Catch22. The aims of introducing mentors include improving compliance with community sentences and reducing reoffending. Many women go to prison because of their failure to comply for offences that would not originally have warranted a prison sentence.

At the end of the first year, the pilot was extended for a further six months. As Jacqui Benzie, assistant director for Catch22, says: “It’s a sign that we’re doing something right. We have already exceeded targets for referrals, the number of mentors engaging service users and a growing number of women who are making positive changes in their lives.”

One of the reasons Catch22 in particular was awarded the contract was because of its offer to introduce volunteer mentors from different backgrounds, including the private sector. The mentors who are tasked with helping offenders subject to community sentences get back on their feet are all female, but their professional backgrounds are varied; they might come from bookmaker William Hill, from the Metropolitan police, or from Serco...

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