Volunteer Mentoring Scheme for Offenders IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LONDON PROBATION
Key Facts about Offenders in London
- London Probation has a caseload of 45,000 offenders at any one time.
- More than half of all offenders re-offend within two years of release.
- A re-offending ex-prisoner is likely to cost the criminal justice system an average of £65,000.
- Many offenders have low-level skills and are unemployed. Research suggests that being in employment reduces the risk of re-offending by between a third and a half; having stable accommodation reduces the risk by a fifth.
- 80% of prisoners have the writing skills at, or below, the level of an eleven year old.
- Around 50% of prisoners have no GP before they go into custody.
Overview and Aims:
There is considerable evidence that employment, education/training and housing have an impact on re-offending. Other significant factors in re-offending are substance misuse and mental and physical health.
The volunteer mentoring scheme will help offenders reintegrate with their families, friends and local communities by providing practical assistance to meet their specific needs.
The volunteers will provide a valuable link between the Probation Service and the local community, and can thus contribute towards the successful integration of offenders within the community.
Delivery of the mentoring service will commence early in 2008. Initially ten volunteers will receive training in order to provide support for unemployed offenders who are on licence over a six-month period in the boroughs of Kingston, Richmond and Hounslow with a view to developing the project across London once the initial pathfinder has been evaluated. These boroughs were chosen as the Assistant Chief Officer of these boroughs has really championed the scheme as a result of managing a successful mentoring scheme in the youth service.
Support will be offered immediately prior to release from prison where appropriate or whilst under the supervision of London Probation in the community.
The selection process will aim to cover a cross-representation of all communities in the selected boroughs to achieve a suitable match for the offender in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, availability, geography and skills required.
Service Outline
Volunteer advisors will accumulate a database of local resources and information in the offender’s area. They will in most cases accompany the offender when they first approach local services in order to help overcome any barriers to accessing services. The volunteer may also need to act as an advocate to help articulate the offender’s wishes/needs to service providers. Thereafter, the volunteer advisor should ensure that ongoing support is provided to sustain the offender getting the right help for their identified needs. Such support might include:
- Motivating offenders to attend required appointments and programmes.
- Linking with local college educational resources and provision of support and advice in relation to accessing employability training and job guidance.
- Helping gain access to community resources needed to resettle. These could include helping the offender register with a GP/dentist, identification of local Jobcentre or Post Office, completing application forms, dealing with accommodation issues, identifying agencies that offer benefits and debt advice, etc.
- Helping offenders who have childcare responsibilities secure parent support resources.