Memorandum submitted by Leicester City
Council
1. PURPOSE OF
REPORT
1.1 To outline the work of Leicester, Leicestershire
and Rutland Sub-Regional partnership in developing a business
case for reducing re-offending and the development of a toolkit
to calculate the costs of re-offending in any local area.
1.2 To illustrate the way the costs were calculated
in the Sub-Region, how this information was used to engage partners
and reinforce the need to focus on offending behaviour in order
to work towards sustaining reducing re-offending.
1.3 Outline work undertaken to reduce re-offending
as a result of these findings.
2. SUMMARY
2.1 Leicestershire Beacon Partnership calculated
the cost of re-offending to the Sub Region at over £146 million
per year. The methodology for calculating the costs is presented
in this paper. In order to make the figure more meaningful the
costs were equated to Local authority expenditure on specific
services, as described in the report below.
2.2 In 2006, as part of its work as the Civic
Society Alliance national demonstration project the Partnership
undertook an audit of work in the region and produced a web-based
toolkit—"Local Solutions to Reduce Re-offending by
Adult and Young Offenders—which draws on the experience
and the wealth of excellent practice across the region. The business
case, including calculating the cost of re-offending to the Leicestershire
Sub-Region, was carried out and used to gain high-level support
from Members and Chief Officer/Executive level.
2.3 A sub-regional Reducing Re-offending
Board was set up for Leicester City, Leicestershire County and
partners in order to facilitate a strategic sub-regional partnership
approach in delivering an agenda aimed at reducing re-offending.
Its membership includes senior level staff from of Local Authorities,
the Local Primary Care Trust and agencies within the Criminal
Justice System (CJS).
2.4 This effective joint strategic approach
across the sub-region is symbolised by the joint application and
success in achieving Beacon Status in 2008-09 for the Reducing
Re-offending Theme. The five authorities are Leicester City Council
(Lead), Leicestershire County Council, Melton Mowbray, Hinckley
and Bosworth, Oadby and Wigston Borough Councils.
2.6 Our strong partnership approach, supported
by a range of innovative reducing re-offending initiatives, was
responsible for Leicestershire achieving Beacon Status. This paper
will draw on some of these initiatives to illustrate that a range
of provision is needed to reduce re-offending.
2.5 The dissemination process for achieving
Beacon Status will further embed the work of reducing re-offending
across the region as well as nationally. The cost of reducing
re-offending is being used as a key factor to maintain engagement
with this agenda as well as engagement with other authorities
within the sub-region.
3. RECOMMENDATIONS
3.1 To recognise the issue of re-offending
cannot be solely addressed by agencies in the Criminal Justice
System (CJS). It is an issue for all public agencies to contribute
towards this work. Private sector organisation, the third sector
and local communities also have a vital role to play in this work.
3.2 Recognition of offenders as a socially excluded
group and addressing issues such as accommodation, employability
etc are key to breaking the cycle of re-offending.
3.3 To support and recognise the important
contribution Local Authorities can make in the agenda around reducing
re-offending.
3.4 To note the contents of this paper.
4. REPORT
Having already been recognised nationally for
innovative practice in working with offenders—Leicestershire,
Leicester City and Rutland, and the District Councils—have
been working in partnership to address reducing re-offending.
4.1 In order to progress and develop a joint
strategic approach to reducing re-offending, the Sub-Regional
Reducing Re-offending Board was set up in recognition of the fact
that:
— Crime has a devastating affect on
the lives of victims, offenders, families and on communities;
and that,
— People who have already been through
the Criminal Justice System commit more than half of all crime.
4.2 The Social Exclusion report (SEU 2002)
highlighted offenders as a socially excluded group and identified
the seven pathways out of offending which need to be addressed
in order to break the cycle of re-offending. (The pathways are,
Accommodation, Education, training and employment, Health, Drugs
and alcohol, finance, benefit and debt, children and families,
Attitudes, thinking and behaviour.) These pathways have been used
as useful tool to engage Local Authorities, which recognise the
contribution they can make to addressing social exclusion by helping
resettle and rehabilitate offenders.
5. THE TOOLKIT
A web-based toolkit was developed—"Local
Solutions to Reduce Re-offending by Adult and Young Offenders"—which
draws on the experience of the region and encapsulates the wealth
of excellent practice across the region. It provides guidance
to other local public service providers (e.g. Local Authorities,
housing providers, and health service providers) and also local
partnerships such as Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships.
Civic Alliance Toolkit Link
5.1 The toolkit seeks to help practitioners understand
why the contribution of non criminal justice agencies and communities
in tackling re-offending is so important as part of the package
of work to support the management of offenders who are serving,
or have served, either custodial or community sentences.
5.2 Tool kit 2: "How to Use the Costing
Re-offending Spreadsheet" is designed to provide an indication
of the cost of re-offending for Local Authorities. The National
Offender Management Service (NOMS) developed the tool in conjunction
with the Home office's Research Development and Statistics Unit.
It uses the Home Office's Cost of Crime Survey and then makes
some assumptions such as 50% of crime being committed by offenders
with previous convictions. (The template used and the caveats/assumptions
made in the calculations are attached at Annexes A and B).
5.3 The Costs of Re-offending in Leicester
City and Leicestershire—In order to make this meaningful
and to engage with Local Authorities the estimated costs to the
region were calculated and these costs were equated to expenditure
on specific services.
5.4 The figures are based on 2005-06 data
both for the recorded crimes and the costs of crime. Both the
City and County Council finance departments converted the costs
developed into costs of services in the respective authorities
in order to give an understanding of what the actual cost was
and to encourage work on the reducing re-offending pathways.
5.5 Despite the limitations (See Caveats
Sheet—Annexe B) of such a tool, it has been possible to
make a strong economic case to local partners, Elected Members
and communities to develop a strategic approach to address re-offending.
5.6 Total estimated cost for Leicester,
Leicestershire and Rutland—£146 million—For
Leicester City the cost was £74 million, Leicestershire County
Council £68 million, and Melton Borough Council 4.5 million
In Leicester City the £74 million annual
cost equates to:
(a) The annual running costs of 86 Primary
Schools or 20 Secondary Schools.
(b) The annual running costs of 270 libraries.
(c) The provision of nearly 3.4 million hours
of Home Care (assuming no contribution from the client).
(d) The annual revenue costs associated with
the residential care of 2,873 elderly people in homes.
(e) The provision of nearly 16 million mobile
meals (assuming no contribution from the client).
(f) The annual running costs of 317 Family
Centres.
6. WORK UNDERTAKEN
IN LEICESTERSHIRE
The work of the Sub-Region is quite extensive
and addresses issues for young and adult offenders, including:
6.1 The strategic approach of the Sub-Regional
Board who have produced a plan to develop the reducing re-offending
agenda and join the work of Local Authorities, Health and Criminal
Justice Agencies.
6.2 Re-offending for adults and young people
is a significant priority, with national indicators to measure
reducing in offending across the three Local Area Authorities
(LAA's) that encompass the region. This will be a responsibility
and challenge for all agencies to bring down the rate of re-offending.
6.3 MAPPOM (Multi-agency, Prolific and Priority
Offender Management) has demonstrated the benefits of multi-agency
approaches targeted on prolific offenders. This is heralded as
a good practice model of surveillance and supervision of offenders,
incorporating a service that addresses mental health, substance
misuse and employability issues.
6.4 MAPPOM services have also demonstrated
a reduction in re-offending as a result of their intervention
and have related this to the reduction in costs. They tracked
a number (32) of their client group, and assessed their offences
prior to MAPPOM intervention and for the following year. This
study, completed in September 07 shows an overall reduction of
240 offences (78%) and put into context of the cost of crime,
the savings are of £700,000.
6.5 To maintain this work all local authorities
in partnership with Leicestershire Probation Trust have given
a commitment to fund this work in order to continue to reduce
re-offending of the most prolific offenders in Leicestershire.
7. EMPLOYABILITY
As a group, ex-offenders have low levels of
literacy and numeracy and few skills and qualifications. This
fact remains a barrier to offenders getting into sustainable employment.
A large proportion of offenders need a range of support in order
that they can enter the competitive work environment, and also
for them to gain the motivation to do so.
7.1 As part of Section 17 work of the Crime and
Disorder Act 1998, Leicester City Council, in partnership with
the Youth Offending Service (YOS) and the Probation Services,
has been developing Council Reparation Placements for young and
adult offenders as part of their community punishment orders.
Offenders have been given placements working with Council Departments,
namely Parks and Open Spaces, Housing Renewals, Landlord Services
and Sports Services.
7.2 This provides offenders with opportunities
to gain structured work experience as part of community payback.
In 2008 Leicester City Council offered over 2,000 unpaid work
placement days to offenders.
7.3 Leicestershire County Council has worked
with Leicestershire Cares, a voluntary project made up of employers
in the Sub-Region. Leicestershire Cares works with employees in
the city and county to create opportunities for ex-offenders to
experience a `mentored' work placement. Many of these offenders
do not have a work history. This work has made a clear contribution
to the Reducing Re-offending agenda and has led to a 70% success
rate of offenders gaining employment. Plans are being developed
to work with other authorities across the sub-region in 2009.
8. MELTON PATHWAYS
PROJECT
The purpose of this will be to develop a package
of support services (across the full range of Local Authority
and Community Services), which can be tailored to the needs of
individuals when they are released from custody and so reduce
the likelihood of re-offending.
8.1 Melton has developed a pilot scheme addressing
cultural change in council service provision. Early results in
the pilot are that it is providing a process and clarity to understanding
the Local Authority role in the reducing re-offending agenda.
8.2 It aims to create a "one team"
culture around the needs of an individual, highlighting how Housing
Department, Benefits, Economic Development and Leisure can work
together. It is also alerting the authority to the complex needs
of offenders and the need for intensive support to offenders.
8.3 This pilot will be used to address change
across all partnerships and will report to the sub-regional reducing
re-offending board. It was - for example to help access support,
addressing the intensive support needed for prisoners.
9. REPORT AUTHOR
Susan Holden
Beacon Co-ordinator, Reducing Re-offending
On behalf of Leicester City Council, Leicestershire
County Council, Hinckley & Bosworth, Oadby and Wigston and
Melton Borough Councils
Susan Holden
Community Safety Team
January 2009
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