It is estimated that out of a million active offenders, 100,000 offenders have three or more convictions and are responsible for half of all recorded crime. The active offender population is not static, 20,000 individuals leave this pool every year and are replaced by another 20,000.

With this in mind, the Government launched the Prolific and Other Priority Offender (PPO) Strategy nationally in 2004 to target the offenders who commit the most crime and cause the most harm to local communities. Three years on, and the scheme which helps persistent offenders turn their lives around is proving a success in Derbyshire.

Since its introduction many offenders have been required to work to a challenging and demanding programme of monitoring and supervision delivered by agencies represented on the Derbyshire Criminal Justice Board and have been helped to leave behind a path of offending and look towards a crime free future.

The PPO scheme is a multi-agency led initiative, owned by the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership’s (CDRP’s) and Derby Community Safety partnership with Derbyshire Criminal Justice Board having responsibility for ensuring compliance with the overall strategy. The scheme brings together representatives from Derbyshire Constabulary, the CPS, HMCS, the Youth Offending Service, Probation Service, HMPS, Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) and Drug Intervention Programme (DIP), housing agencies and Connexions.

As part of the strategy, the criminal justice agencies and other partners apply a ‘Premium Service’ when dealing with a PPO, to which there are three complementary strands: Prevent and Deter, Catch and Convict and Rehabilitate and Resettle.

All member agencies have a responsibility towards delivering the ‘Premium Service’ to ensure that PPOs in Derbyshire are identified as quickly as possible, are assigned a dedicated worker at each stage of the criminal justice process, are given priority access to appropriate offending behaviour programmes and are prioritised during court listings.

Denise White, Chair of Derbyshire Criminal Justice Board commented:

“The Board’s approach to tackling PPOs is clear, robust and consistent and the results so far point to significant successes in addressing PPOs, cutting the number and seriousness of the crimes they commit leading to safer places to live and work in Derbyshire.”

Chief Inspector Jock Munro, scheme co-ordinator for Derbyshire police commented:

“This is the first scheme that brings together all the essential elements in dealing with our most problematic offenders who wreak havoc in our communities.

“By the key criminal justice agencies working together with Derby Community Safety Partnership and the County’s CDRP’s, alongside various voluntary agencies, this initiative provides real opportunities for us to break the continued cycle of reoffending which prolific offenders find themselves locked in to.

“The success we have had so far in focussing our efforts on a small group of offenders is making a real difference and making our communities safer.”