Agenda item

To consider the report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development presenting progress made in responding to the recommendations arising from the previous Scrutiny Inquiry into Integrated Offender Management

The report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development set out the progress made in response to the recommendations arising from the previous Scrutiny Inquiry into Integrated Offender Management.

The following were in attendance for this item:

• Samantha Millar – Chief Inspector, Community Safety
• Louise Hackett – Commissioning and Development Manager (Criminal Justice)
• Neil Moloney – Head of Leeds Probation

Members were asked to consider the progress made against recommendations and to agree those which no longer required monitoring.

The following issues were discussed:

• Recommendation 1 – Reference was made to pathways made available to prolific offenders for rehabilitation and re-settlement.
• Recommendation 2 – Issues discussed included how to support those on Job Seekers Allowance and the potential impact of changes to the benefits system.  The use of European Social Funding to support employment and training was discussed and Members requested further information on this.  It was reported that there was capacity to work with between 75 and 80 offenders per month as part of the Leeds Work and Skills Plan in conjunction with training providers including support from the third sector. It was further agreed to provide mapping information in relation to the Drugs Improvement Programme (DIP).
• Recommendation 4 – In response to questions regarding budgets, it was reported that there were budgetary issues due to restructures and this influenced ways in how to prioritise targets.  There had been regional collaboration between forces to tackle cross boundary issues and it was recognised at a local and divisional level that there was a need to share resources.
• Recommendation 7 – In relation to the Deter Young Offenders Scheme, further information was requested on numbers of offenders, targets and timescales.  Reference was made to a team of 5 Police Officers that worked with young offenders across the city.
• Recommendation 9 – Further to the statistical information provided, it was reported that there was an initial rise in the offending figures for Priority and Prolific Offenders (PPOs) due to the active management of this group and higher detection rates.  The Board was informed that active management of up to 99 PPOs could be carried out and it was estimated that there was over 260 PPOs in the City.  The PPOs identified were those who were predicted to be more likely to re-offend and there was a target to involve those involved in burglary.  There had been a significant reduction in the number of these kind of offenders being involved with drugs in recent years and Members asked for details of the age profile of PPOs.  It was reported that there was a tendency for these to be in the under 25s age group and Members requested a copy of the report on Youth Offending Work in Leeds.  Further reference was made to tackling organised crime groups and families with different generations of career criminals.
• Recommendation 11 – Reference was made to sharing information with Ward Councillors through Area Management.

RESOLVED – That those recommendations that no longer require monitoring be agreed and that the Board continues to track the remaining recommendations.

(Councillor Jarosz declared a personal interest in this item due to her employment with the Probation Service as did Councillor Marjoram due to his wife’s employment).