Working to stop re-offending
ISIS Gloucester Womens Centre. Breaking the cycle of reoffending
Isis, the Egyptian Goddess, was known to be the friend of slaves, sinners and the downtrodden. She was also the Goddess of magic. ISIS stands for Integrated Support and Information Services, but it was the association with the Goddess Isis that really inspired project leader Rose Mahon when setting up the Gloucester centre which works hard to rehabilitate women offenders, particularly those with abusive pasts and problems with drug and alcohol dependency.
The centre has worked out a rich and apparently effective programme of counselling and training that seems to be leading to positive outcomes in terms of re-offending and dependency. So much so that the Ministry of Justice had confirmed budget for the year ahead. Magic?!
Female Offenders Specified Activity Requirement (FOSAR)
Isis has developed offender programmes which are managed in partnership with Offender Management teams. These include impact of crime courses as well as a range of programmes tackling specific personal issues. The centre hopes to work with the police and CPS in the fullness of time to identify conditional cautioning programmes in suitable cases.
Working with voluntary and statutory sector partner to explore Restorative Justice solutions in Gloucestershire
Senior Crown Prosecutor Peter Smith, in close liaison with Jane Gibney (and Vicky Cook through the Gloucestershire Safer Stronger Justice Commison) has been working with police, probation and voluntary and statutory sector partners to take forward Restorative Justice programmes in Gloucestershire.
Restorative Justice can be used as either a diversion from formal prosecution (by police dealing with low level neighbourhood crime, for example) or as an additional outcome of prosecution, or in relation to conditional cautioning. Offenders and victims are brought together (with their agreement) by mediators to discuss the impact of the crime, explore reparations and for an apology to be made. Research has shown that such meetings can often offer greater healing or closure for victims than court hearings alone and that it can be transformative for some offenders to have to face the victims of their crime.
Breaking the cycle reoffending? The Nelson Trust
The Stroud Beresford event was supported by representatives of the Nelson Trust, a local charity with a national reputation for working very effectively with alcohol and drug abuse and with offenders. Jane said "the Nelson Trust have been developing imaginative and effective programmes for conditional cautioning (for women offenders in particular recently) which may fit in very well with the direction of travel set out in the green paper 'Breaking the Cycle'. We will be following their work with great interest and taking up opportunities to engage with them. Their work is pretty inspirational too!"
