York scheme receives funding

A crime-fighting concept is to give York’s most prolific offenders a stark choice of taking the help they are offered or feeling the full weight of the law.

The scheme, bringing together the Safer York Partnership, police and drug intervention teams and the Probation Service, will focus on 300 of the city’s most persistent criminals and give them a chance to mend their ways.

If they refuse to accept the support available, they are being warned they will be “swiftly” brought to justice under the Integrated Offender Management (IOM) initiative.

The scheme is being boosted by £180,000 of Home Office cash with the aim of cutting serious acquisitive offences such as burglaries and vehicle crime.

It will build on the success of the Home Office Prolific and other Priority Offender (PPO) scheme, which has been operating in York since 2005, and will present those it concentrates on with help to steer them away from their law-breaking lifestyle or face being “robustly enforced against”.

Chief probation officer Pete Brown, who will oversee the IOM scheme in York and North Yorkshire, said: “We already know many offenders simply need some help and support to break out of a life of crime, and delivery of that support is the main business of the probation service.

“However, we also know that, by involving the police and other partners in working directly with offenders, we can dramatically increase the number of offenders we work with and ensure that if they refuse to accept the support we offer, we can swiftly bring them to justice.”

The Government money will also fund the IOM unit’s base and additional support for offenders who are under supervision. Chief Superintendent Ali Higgins, Police Commander for York, said: “We are confident IOM will significantly impact on the levels of crime committed by persistent offenders in York.”

Police to tackle 400 most prolific offenders in Northamptonshire

A new scheme will help bring 400 Northamptonshire offenders to justice and will support them to combat their drug and alcohol issues.

The new Government scheme, called Integrated Offender Management, aims to cut offending through better targeting and follow-up.

As a result, the Drug Intervention Programme and Rose Programme will expand their Kettering teams. The Rose Programme works with prolific offenders, many of whom are problematic drug and alcohol users.

Their work will be expanded to include more criminals, especially those who cause harm to their communities by being involved in burglaries, robberies and car crimes.

Police officers, probation officers and drug workers will all work together on the scheme to look at the reasons why the criminals offend.

If offenders do not comply and continue to offend, police officers will closely monitor them until they are prosecuted or return to treatment.

Inspector Mike Smith, from the Rose Programme, said: "We aim to reduce crime, whether that be by assisting offenders to enter a rehabilitation scheme or by targeting those people we suspect to be committing crime. The introduction of IOM will further enhance the work we have been doing."