Lock ’em up and throw away the key? - why we shouldn’t do that

THERE is a question probation workers are often asked, says Pete Brown. It is this: “How can you work with these people when you know what they have done?”

‘These people’ are criminals: the drug dealers, burglars, rapists, thieves and assorted antisocial types who make the lives of ordinary, law-abiding people a misery.

It is the probation worker’s job to try to turn them into decent citizens; or, as Mr Brown puts it, to seek a “way back into society for people who have dropped off the edge”.

Inevitably, that means working closely with those who have done some pretty unpleasant things. What makes somebody want to do a job like that?

In his own case, it was because he found life as a local government accountant pretty dull. He comes from a perfectly normal background – his father was a post office manager, his mother a post officer worker. After growing up in Liverpool, he studied modern history and politics at university, before working in the accounting department of a local authority.

But that, the 56-year-old chief executive of the York and North Yorkshire Probation Trust says, was “rather dry for me”.

He wanted to work with people and became a community service volunteer at a hostel in Kent. Before long, he had become the hostel’s assistant warden. Then a probation worker took him under his wing. He let Pete go to court with him, allowed him to sit in on interviews with offenders, and generally showed him the ropes.

Pete had found his vocation. It was something about seeing the difference you could make to people’s lives, he says.

“There is something I personally get from seeing people’s lives change. These are often isolated people. They have been surrounded by people they cannot trust: drug users, dealers. They are struggling to have any normal social contact.”

It is his belief that most criminals, with the right guidance and supervision, can turn their lives around. He strongly believes they should be given that chance.

Some people think offenders should be locked up and the key thrown away, he admits. But as a society we cannot afford to do that. Prisons are expensive. Trying to help offenders become decent citizens again is not being soft on crime – it is protecting ordinary people.

Not all criminals are the same. Some do have to be locked up to protect communities, he admits. Others are simply young men who got into trouble after drinking too much on a night out. Or they may be drawn into crime by friends, acquaintances and family members.

Yet others will be repeat offenders who, because of drugs or drink problems, sheer desperation, or because they know no other way, have offended again and again. “But for most people who have been through the courts, you can try to change their behaviour.”

Most of his staff live in local communities in York and North Yorkshire, he says. “They’re aware of the impact offending has on communities, and know the importance of doing a good job. We hope the end product of what we do is going to be offenders becoming decent citizens who can take their place in society, so that York and North Yorkshire are safer places.”

One key way to do that is to try to give them a stake in society. If they have families, homes, jobs – the things most of us take for granted – then, says Mr Brown, they will have something to lose. “And then they will have a commitment to society.”

So that is ultimately what probation work is about: equipping criminals with the skills and opportunities to become a decent citizen and, where necessary, helping them to overcome the problems – drugs, alcohol, anger management – that stop them fitting in.

There are various ways the probation trust does this. Probation officers follow offenders through court, and prepare pre-sentence reports for magistrates and judges. These make recommendations and suggestions about appropriate sentences or the types of support an offender needs.

The probation trust also runs schemes such as Community Payback, whereby convicted offenders are given community rather than prison sentences, and give something back by clearing graffiti or tidying up overgrown footpaths and public gardens.

This helps to resettle prisoners released from jail, by offering support with the search for somewhere to live, and with education, training and employment. The trust also runs a number of ‘accredited programmes’ to help tackle the causes of criminal behaviour. These include courses that deal with anger management, domestic abuse and alcohol problems, and sex offender treatment programmes.

It is vital, often unsung work, that goes on in places – courtrooms, prisons, hostels –most of us never see. But it makes a huge difference to everyone in North Yorkshire – which is perhaps the perfect answer to that question: “How do you work with these people?”

The York and North Yorkshire Probation Trust has just been rated by the Ministry of Justice as one of the best in the country. It became a trust on April 1 last year – a status which grants it greater freedom to respond to local needs – and has just received ‘exceptional’ ratings after its first year for its public protection work and its record on reducing reoffending. Only two of the other 34 probation trusts in the country did as well.

“So we’re equal top in the country,” Pete Brown says.

Not everything is rosy. Probation services, like other public sector organisations, face spending cuts this year and in the next few years.

The York and North Yorkshire Trust saw its £9 million budget by four per cent this year, or just over £400,000.

The budget will be cut by a further 6.5 per cent in total over the next three years. Inevitably, that will mean belt tightening.

About five jobs have already been shed from the 210-strong workforce – all by voluntary redundancy or voluntary early retirement, Mr Brown stresses. Some staff have also opted to slightly reduce hours, or to buy back leave, and the trust has given up its headquarters in Northallerton – instead, senior managers will be based in the various field offices around the county, including in York.

There is also a potentially big shake-up to come when the community payback is put out to tender, in accordance with a Government requirement.

The York and North Yorkshire Probation Trust will have to bid against other potential providers if it wants to continue running the service locally. But if some other provider does take over, Mr Brown says, probation staff working on the scheme would be allowed to transfer under employment arrangements.

Still, there was some anxiety at the start of the year, he admits. “But I think morale is actually good now. We’ve been able to manage the budget last year and this year without compulsory redundancies, we’ve been able to maintain front line services, and we’ve achieved a great deal in terms of performance.”

Not bad for a first year.

Case Studies of offenders helped to turn their lives around

Case 1

THIS offender was sentenced to unpaid work and supervision for violent assault against his teenage child, who then moved out of the home. “He was very angry, drinking too much and unemployed,” the Probation Trust says. “He thought he had lost everything.”

The trust, liaising with the offender’s social worker, held numerous supervision sessions focusing on behaviour, thinking skills, parenting and dealing with difficult situations and relationships, victim awareness and anger management. It also helped the offender rebuild his work ethic through unpaid work.

The changes were slow. “But 12 months later he is in full time employment, drinking less and showing better relationship skills,” the trust says. “He thinks about how his friends and family might feel about things. He now thinks back to how his behaviour and attitude used to be so damaging, and he is able to see ways that he can maintain the positive changes that he has made so that he doesn’t harm his family again.”

Case 2

THIS offender was homeless and living in London having been disowned by her family. She had been living in a squat and had become involved in drugs and shoplifting after losing her job. She was sentenced to unpaid work in London, provided an address in North Yorkshire, and shortly after sentence came up here. Her offender manager engaged her in motivational work and referred her to specialist local agencies for housing and drug problems. She was provided with emergency accommodation and has now been accepted on a permanent basis into supported housing.

She is receiving support for her drug misuse difficulties, and is now working towards qualifications through her unpaid work. She has been referred for additional support in finding employment.

“We expect her to flourish in her supported housing, and work towards qualifications and employment with our support,” the Probation Trust says.

Case 3

WHEN this offender first attended probation she had very low self-esteem, had been abusing prescription drugs and alcohol, and had attempted suicide.

Over some months she worked with her offender manager and a drug agency, and slowly grew in confidence. She gradually accepted her offending past and found the victim empathy work that the offender manager undertook with her particularly helpful – even though the letter she had written to apologise to her victim was not actually sent.

“She worked well and thoroughly enjoyed attending her unpaid work, developing skills and confidence as she did so, and secured employment towards Christmas last year. Now at the end of her supervision, she is a confident woman.”