Re-offending (Hansard, 23 July 2004)

§ Paul Goggins

[holding answer 22 July 2004]: On 19 July, the Home Office published its strategic plan "Confident Communities in a Secure Britain", setting out how it will cut crime in the next five years, including its goal of reducing re-offending through the rehabilitation of offenders.

Some of the key elements include: The development of a new strategy to target the most prolific offenders in our communities. Local areas have been asked to focus on the individuals who, in their judgement, are the most prolific, most persistently antisocial and who pose the greatest threat to the safety and confidence of their local communities. All local areas will be expected to have a scheme in place to tackle these offenders by 6 September 2004. More work with the parents of young offenders and greater use of supervised community programmes, including using electronic tagging and tracking. The parallel publication of a National Action Plan to reduce re-offending through greater strategic direction and collaborative working. Over 60 action points have been agreed across Government within the main areas to support the rehabilitation of offenders. A complementary approach is being developed in Wales. The Action Plan has been set within our proposals for improving the management of offenders, with the establishment of a National Offender Management Service, providing better targeted interventions and clearer accountability for reducing re-offending. Finally, because drug use contributes to an enormous proportion of re-offending, directing drug-using offenders into treatment is fundamental to our strategy. The development of through-care and after-care provisions are at the heart of the Criminal Justice Interventions Programme addressing the need and bridging the gap particularly for those drug misusing offenders leaving the criminal justice system and treatment.