Tackling reoffending: A voluntary, community and private partnership?

Re-offending figures make for sorry reading. According to the report ‘Transforming Rehabilitation’, published by the Ministry of Justice in January 2013, around a third of those on community sentences and prison-leavers will reoffend within a year, and that figure rises to 58 per cent for those who have served less than a year.

Action is clearly needed to achieve a step change in reducing re-offending. Under government plans, a National Probation Service for England & Wales will be set up whose responsibilities will include court assessments, enforcement and managing the 20 per cent or so of offenders deemed to be at ‘high risk of harm’ – around 50,000 people. This means that other parties can bid for rehabilitation contracts related to those offenders considered as at low or medium risk of recidvism. These parties are tasked with helping to cut re-offending rates, integrate offenders into communities, and co-ordinate service provision to them in a more meaningful and effective manner.

With huge implications both for individuals and society, Serco’s decision to move into the delivery of community sentences was not taken lightly. Increasingly, solutions are being found through collaborative working and drawing on the skills of different kinds of providers. After considering a thorough review of voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) organisations operating within the justice sector in 2006, Serco identified Catch22 and Turning Point as ideal partners. Social business Catch22 has more than 200 years of experience of helping people in tough situations turn their lives around, and works in prisons and the community, supporting the rehabilitation of both young and adult offenders. Its history is rich and dates back to the creation of the early Probation Service in 1876. Social enterprise Turning Point has extensive experience of providing health and social care support for people with complex needs, including those affected by substance misuse, mental health issues unemployment and learning disability...

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Ethosis aimed at public sector leaders, politicians, academics and policy specialists debating the future of public services today.