The Reach Project

But thanks to the Reach Project, the county's Prolific and other Priority Offender (PPO) scheme, criminal justice agencies together with key partner organisations are reducing volume crime and tackling substance misuse across the county.

After the government launched the PPO strategy four years ago to target offenders who commit the most crime and cause the most harm to local communities, individual Community Safety Partnerships have led the multi-agency scheme which is proving to be a huge success in helping persistent offenders turn their lives around.

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

Some key facts:

• In March 2008, there were 244 PPOs in Derbyshire

• Out of these, 238 were male and six were female

• 26 to 30 is the peak age group for PPOs which is older than the National and East Midlands peak age group

• 91 per cent of PPOs are white British

• Burglary and other acquisitive crime are the main PPO convictions in Amber Valley, Chesterfield and South Derbyshire. Acquisitive crime and violent crime are the main PPO convictions in High Peak

• 60 per cent of the PPO population are in the community or criminal justice system, with 40 per cent in custody

The Reach Project sees criminal justice agencies and other partners applying a ‘Premium Service’ when dealing with a PPO, to which there are four strands: Prevent, 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.

Derbyshire County Council’s Community Safety Manager and Chair of the County PPO Steering and Implementation Group, Sally Goodwin comments:

“This is the first scheme that brings together all the essential elements in dealing with our most problematic offenders who have potential to cause most harm in our communities.

“By the key criminal justice agencies working together with the county Community Safety Partnerships, alongside other critical partners, The Reach Project provides real opportunities to break the continued cycle of re-offending which prolific offenders find themselves locked into.

“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.”

For further information about the Reach Project, please visit the Derbyshire Criminal Justice Board website (opens in a new window) or contact the Derbyshire Criminal Justice Board on 01773 733423.