The central aim of the Prolific and Priority Offender Strategy (PPO) is to reduce crime and re-offending by developing a multi agency response to PPOs within a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area. Each CDRP area must establish a PPO scheme that selects individuals by using shared intelligence, and targets these with the explicit aim of putting an end to their offending.
The earlier 'Catch and Convict' strand of the PPO strategy focuses on the apprehension and conviction of PPOs, and through licensed enforcement, the return to court if they continue to offend; the Rehabilitation and Resettle strand focuses on those PPOs who are already in custody or serving sentences in the community.
As in Catch and Convict, CDRPs work with the same partner agencies including Police, Probation, Prisons and Criminal Justice Inventions Teams (CJIT) to ensure that actions are in place in order to prioritise PPOs and that, through a single offender manager, they are case-managed at all stages of their sentence.
Assessment
Under this strand each PPO aged 18 and over, who is subject to a community or custodial sentence, will receive an assessment. This will identify the likelihood of re-offending, their risk of serious harm, the needs relating to their offending and the inventions required to rehabilitate them. Individual case-management along with appropriate interventions will ensure PPOs are offered the maximum support to become non-offending and productive members of society.
CDRPs work in conjunction with the partner agencies to ensure the appropriate interventions are in place, whether they are in prison or in the community, and manage individual PPO rehabilitation in terms of their post-sentence arrangements.
Re-Offending Action Plans
In parallel, Regional Offender Managers (ROMs) will develop and implement regional reducing re-offending actions plans, which will be based on the regional profiles and needs of offenders. These plans will focus on resettlement pathways that are critical to reducing the risk of re-offending, namely:
- Education
- Training
- Employment
- Accommodation
- Mental and Physical Health
- benefit and debt advice
- drugs and alcohol treatment
- families and children’s services, and
- attitudes and self control.
CDRPs and their partner agencies are also developing their own rehabilitation action plans to support the needs of PPOs in their areas.
