[January 2013]

Transnational Knowledge Exchange FORMEZ PA and NIACRO

Thursday 24th –Friday 25th January 2013

Terry Doherty / Assistant Director, PBNI.

www.pbni.org.uk

Overview

• to reduce crime and the harm it does by challenging and changing offender behaviour

• Seek to achieve this through:• Effective Risk assessment and Risk Management of

Offenders.• Intervention Programmes to change attitudes/

behaviour.• Promote positive lifestyles.• Rehabilitation of Offenders

PBNI work - Overview

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PBNI work - Overview

• Supervises approximately 5000 offenders in the community on Court Orders and Prison post release licences.

• Predominantly adult offenders, 18 plus.• Work in all 3 prison establishments.• Provides 6000 reports a year to courts and parole

commissioners.• Provides behavioural change programmes.

Overview

• Works in partnership with police and other statutory bodies through public protection arrangements and other initiatives to reduce offending.

• Provides a Victim Information Scheme• Works with 400 partner organisations to provide

community service • Provide 160,000 hours of unpaid work via

community service to local communities.

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PBNI in Courts

• Pre-Sentence Report, is defined as a; “report in writing, with a view to assisting the court in determining the most suitable method of dealing with an offender, is made or submitted by a probation officer.”

• Assessment of risk and determining facts.

• Each year we prepare around 6,000 Pre-Sentence Reports

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PBNI in Custody

• Based in 3 prison establishments in NI

• From committal stage to supervision post custody

• Service level agreements with prisons

• End to end management from prison to community ref: preparation for release.

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PBNI – Preventing re-offending• some offenders must go to prison for a long period of time because of the

seriousness of their offence and because of the very high risk that they may re-offend.

• offenders with serious mental health or substance abuse problems need to undergo effective programmes which address those problems.

• for some offenders tough community sentences are more effective at reducing re-offending than short prison sentences.

• probation and prison staff need to work closely to ensure the right programmes are in place to challenge offender behaviour and that there is end to end management from custody to the community

June 2012

What is Community Service?• It is a sentence of the court.

• Applies to persons of, or over 16 years of age, convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment.

• 40 hours minimum and not more than 240 hours.

• At the end of June 2012 PBNI were supervising 946 Community Service Orders.

June 2012

The purpose of Community Service

• Punishment: Unpaid manual work. Develop work discipline and work skills.

• Reparation: paying back for harm done to the Community.

• Reintegration:Improve offender’s self image through serving community

Types of Work

• Painting / Decorating

• Environmental clean ups and improvements.

• Gardening / grass cutting.

• Placed within range of voluntary/ community organisations to work along side volunteers.

Beneficiaries

• Community Associations• Community Halls• Churches• Church Halls• Charities/ Thrift Shops.• Wide range of Voluntary and Community

Organisations.• Individual Senior Citizens and other persons in

need.

Some examples of the work…

Community Service – Churchlands area– Coleraine

Members from Coleraine Community Safety Partnership pictured above

Feedback from the Community

Churchlands – ColeraineOrlaith Quinn, Community Safety Coordinator, Coleraine Borough Council

"The clean up scheme was created to encourage the community to come together and share a common purpose.”

“We are confident that such improvements will enhance the area, making the neighbourhood more appealing area to live and work in. We have been greatly encouraged by the support and interest shown by the local community and look forward to working with them in the future.”

June 2012

Some examples of the work…

Community Service – preparation and clean up at the Ulster Grand Prix, Dundrod

Feedback from the Community

Ulster Grand Prix, DundrodRobert Graham, Chairman, of Dundrod and District Motorcycle Club

“We are really happy to be involved with the PBNI community service initiative. This will be a real boon to the Dundrod circuit making sure it will be pristine and ready for the Ulster Grand Prix whilst providing people with a real opportunity to pay back to the community.”

June 2012

Some examples of the work…

Community Service - St John’s Church, Moy

Feedback from the Community

St. John’s Church, Moy

“We are extremely pleased with all the hard work Community Service have completed within the Parish, the Community have been most impressed with the results of the hard work”

June 2012

Some examples of the work… Community Service - St Jarlath’s Church, Blackwatertown

Some examples of the work… Community Service - Offenders give back to Cancer Research, Dungannon

PBNI and Cancer Research NI pictured above

Feedback from the Community

Cancer Research UK , DungannonCRUK Shop ManCager Angela Beggs

 “I thank you all sincerely for allocating me these workers, due to all the great hard workers from the Probation my sales are well up above targets”

Cancer Research UK state that 4 hours per week of voluntary work is the equivalent of giving the charity £1,000. Since April 2011 20 people have completed CS on placement in the shop. At an average of 100 hours per Order that equates to a contribution of £25,000 per person. 

June 2012

June 2012

Non Compliance with Court Orders/ Prison Licences

Supervise and enforce sentences in a robust manner

• Warning system

• Return to Court by way of summons/ Arrest Warrant

• Breach of Licence: Recommend Recall to Prison.

Community Grants• PBNI Statement of Purpose: • Helping to make local communities safer by challenging and

changing offenders’ behaviour.• To do this PBNI will work collaboratively with partners and local

communities to address issues and seek solutions related to those at risk of offending and re-offending.

• The Probation Board (NI) Order 1982 Article 4 (2) • (a) make and give effect to schemes for the supervision and

assistance of offenders and the prevention of crime; • (b) mandates PBNI to enter into arrangements with voluntary

organisations to give effect to schemes for the supervision and assistance of offenders and the prevention of crime.

Community Grants• Each year PBNI invites applications for financial assistance from

voluntary/ community sector for programmes /services that seek to challenge and change attitudes and behaviour of offenders.

• Grants mostly between £1,000 and £20,000, but can be larger.• Funding is available for activities in the following areas:• Alcohol/ Drugs counselling/ interventions• - personal development /mentoring/interpersonal

skills/healthy lifestyles• Employment/ employability programmes• - offending behaviour programmes• - supervision of offenders under a Community Service Order.

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PBNI – Probation Works

• The latest research shows that around three quarters of offenders on community service orders do not re-offend within two years.

• 3 out of 4 people who started their probation order in 2007 did not re-offend in one year.