Prolific offenders at Leeds Prison are getting help finding a home, tackling drug addictions and rebuilding relationships with their families on release, in a project run by probation officers.
Debbie Addlestone, West Yorkshire Probation Trust
The scheme, called ‘Positive Futures: Breaking the Cycle’, is the first in West Yorkshire to focus on the needs of prisoners serving short sentences of between 3-12 months.
It is open to men who have been in prison more than once and who want to settle in Leeds when they are released.
One-on-one help
As part of the scheme, a probation officer meets each offender at the prison gates when they have served their sentence and takes them to the agencies which are best placed to deal with the problems in their lives - such as homelessness advice groups, employment and training providers and drug rehabilitation services
Counsellors will also work with the offender's family in an attempt to resolve any relationship problems.
Debbie Addlestone, a West Yorkshire Probation Trust team manager heading the project, said: "We want to be a broker. We want to identify exactly what needs these offenders have.
"We work with each individual to find out what we can do to stop them reoffending and we approach other agencies to help us.
"It will save society a fortune if it works. The savings to the health service and the reductions in court costs will be huge."
Full article can be found here: http://sentencing.justice.gov.uk/?id=news&id2=4
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