John Bensted, Chief Executive of Gloucestershire Probation Trust, writes:
Ken Clarke, our Minister, has commented today ("Punish the feral rioters, but address our social deficit too", 5 Sep 2011, The Guardian) on the violent disorder on our streets in August. He has linked these comments to his proposed changes to the Criminal Justice System and there is much in his comments that I would not disagree with. In fact, we in Gloucestershire Probation Trust are actively working to drive down reoffending rates in the way that he suggests. He talks of public spirited people doing their duty in the best tradition of public service. I am proud of our staff in Probation who do that day in day out, going the extra mile to protect the public and turn offenders' lives around. He talks also about a sane Criminal Justice Policy with offenders paying back to the community. This is exactly what our Community Payback Team does right now, working with offenders sentenced by local magistrates and judges to undertake tough work that benefits the community. We always welcome new suggestions for such projects (see our website www.glosprobation.org.uk). "Whilst locking up offenders for short sentences satisfies our desire to see punishment delivered, it does not always confront offenders with the real impact of their offending. Nor does it offer a chance for them to undertake restorative work. We agree absolutely that offenders must face up to the consequences of their actions but invariably the root causes of offending are complex. Drug use, poor education achievement, lack of stable accommodation are just some of the root causes. These are not excuses for offending but any offender who has turned their life around has overcome these sort of issues. Probation staff are professionally trained to deal with the most challenging members of our society, confront them with the impact of their offending and devise detailed supervision plans and interventions to tackle their offending.
"Over the coming days and weeks local magistrates and judges will be sentencing those arrested for the violent disorder in our city last month. They will be advised by Probation staff as to the circumstance and motivation of those found guilty and will be proposing options to reduce the risk of reoffending. Our aspiration is of course to get them to STOP offending completely and we will work with the City Council and the police as part of the local enquiry into the violence.
Ken Clarke also talks about the public having respect for the sentencing system. Quite so, but in order to have respect and confidence it helps if people have a better understanding of aspects of the Criminal Justice system and I am all for transparency. Hence Probations increased profile in the local press over recent times.
Finally, he talks about his plans to further reduce re-offending. Gloucestershire Probation Trust wholeheartedly agrees with this. It is what we come into work every day to do. We welcome the continued focus on delivering really good outcomes for the communities of Gloucestershire, rather than ticking boxes, as he puts it. The statisticians in Ken Clarke's own Ministry tell us that Gloucestershire Probation Trust is one of the top performers the country. Figures just published show that Gloucestershire is one of only 3 out of 35 Trusts that have been given top marks. In addition, we actually reduce reoffending at a greater rate than the Ministry predict we will and we will continue to work very closely with the Police and all our partners to continue to reduce reoffending. The recent crime figures showed another year on year fall in crime which confirms Gloucestershire is a safe place to live, and Gloucestershire Probation Trust plays a central role in this."
