'Retail crime and shop theft remain significant challenge - this invests in prevention to help stop it'

O2R, originally introduced by West Midlands Police (WMP) in 2018, uses addiction-trained police officers and specialist staff from the drug and alcohol service to ensure pathways for those committing crimes as a result of narcotic use are open. Working closely with retailers, the probation service, local charities and others, these… Simon Foster, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), told Police Oracle that the region's award-winning Offending to Recovery (O2R) programme is helping drive reductions in retail crime while transforming lives, as it prepares to expand again next year. ...

New Event! Developing a Model of Excellence – Working With Those That Cause Harm

A new event from the Chrysalis Centre: Date: Thursday, October 23 Time: 9:15am – 4:30pm GMT+1 Location: Rothamsted Enterprises, West Common, Harpenden AL5 2JQ Click here to book The Chrysalis Centre and Work with Offenders invites you to our conference focused on advancing best practice in domestic abuse perpetrator interventions.… By Chris English...

Independent prison capacity review points to systemic problems

The Ministry of Justice has today (5 August 2025) published the Independent Prison Capacity Review. The review, led by Dame Anne Owers, looked at the origins of the capacity crisis, the reasons why supply and demand did not meet, and the consequences for prisons and other parts of criminal justice. It… Russell Webster reviews a study commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and carried out by a former chief inspector of prisons. ...

Building Trust Online: Strategies for Remote Engagement with Offenders

Building Trust Online: Strategies for Remote Engagement with Offenders Working with offenders online presents a wide range of challenges, but also genuine opportunities to make a difference. Building trust through a screen takes intention and warmth, but it can work and it has already shown real results. Why trust matters… ...

MoJ launches Artificial Intelligence plan

The Ministry of Justice has today published its Artificial Intelligence Action Plan which it says sets out how tech will cut reoffending and make streets safe. The accompanying press release makes some bold claims, saying that: “AI will be used across prisons, probation and courts to better track offenders and… AI to be used across prisons, probation and courts. Russell Webster reports....

Motivational Interviewing: Foundation for Change

Motivational interviewing is a way of working with offenders that puts the service user at the centre of the change process, and which research has found to be part of developing the most effective treatment style when facilitating behavioural change.  Founded by Miller and Rollnick (1991), it works by guiding… By Ciara Placentino...

A Reparation Project with a Difference

Victoria Mitton, Youth Justice Oversight Manager at the YJB, recently donned her trainers and headed down the M5 to visit Devon Youth Justice Service’s (YJS) woodland reparation project. Hakeford Woods, in rural North Devon, is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and its beautiful 40-acre woodland provides the setting for this… By Victoria Mitton...

Honour-Based Violence (HBV): A Form of Abuse, not a Cultural Norm

Honour-Based Violence (HBV) refers to crimes or abusive incidents committed with the motive of protecting or defending the perceived ‘honour’ of a family or community. These acts are often used to assert control, enforce conformity, or punish individuals, typically women and girls, who are seen as having brought ‘shame’ upon… By Michelle Perry ...

Red Snapper Managed Services – Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme

Between 2018 to 2023, police-recorded incidents of violence against women and girls increased by 37%, highlighting the necessity of Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programmes (DAPP). In response to this increase, Red Snapper Managed Services (RSMS) has been delivering a DAPP since 2023 across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. This initiative is aimed at… By Jake Neller...

Rolling with Resistance in Domestic Abuse Interventions

Rolling with resistance is a key technique used in motivational interviewing that can increase a Service User’s level of motivation to change. It aims to do this by avoiding direct confrontation or arguing with the Service User when they express resistance. Instead, rolling with resistant prompts us to acknowledge and… By Lee Eifflaender...