News release issued 18 April 2011 by Hertfordshire Constabulary about joint Probation / Police initiative to reform prolific offenders

AN INNOVATIVE scheme in Hertfordshire, which aims to break the cycle of re-offending and ultimately reduce the number of victims of crime, has helped to change the life of a 27 year old man as he becomes the first candidate to complete the four-year programme.

Michael Hobbs, who lives in Welwyn Garden City with his partner and their three year old son, attended St Albans Crown Court today before His Honour Judge Baker to mark his completion of the Choices and Consequences (C2) programme.

Michael – who was sentenced on C2 in 2007 - experienced a difficult upbringing, became addicted to heroin and crack cocaine and subsequently committed burglaries and thefts from motor vehicles to fund his habit. After voluntarily referring himself to the programme and adhering to strict conditions such as drug testing and regular probation meetings, coupled with treatment and support, he has been able to transform his life. His compliance with the programme has meant countless fewer victims of crime in Hertfordshire.

He now plans to return to education and aspires to become a drugs counsellor to help others to face their addictions.

Michael said: "C2 has changed my whole way of life. For me, jail was easier because you get your sentence, the release date and then you just ride it out. On this, you have to be concerned about where you are, keeping appointments and always having to be aware of what you're doing - it's hard, because change is hard and it's scary.

"When I think about the victims, now I've gone through the programme, it's helped me to see the light and I know what an invasion of personal space it must have been, and it's very upsetting now to think about it."

Detective Inspector Stuart Campfield, who manages the C2 scheme for the Constabulary commented: "With the programme Michael has made a real difference for himself and his family - not to mention the potential victims had he not stopped offending - and I wish him all the success for the future. He should be proud of this achievement over the past four years.

"Now more than ever, it's essential that we look to cost-effective, long-term solutions to reducing crime. C2 is a challenging sentence that demands total commitment from the candidates, who must surrender themselves to close monitoring. Not only that, but they must do all this whilst running the risk that if they don't adhere to the conditions, they face a very long time in prison."

C2 aims to reduce crime by addressing the causes of prolific criminals' cycle of offending and is the only project of its kind nationally. It offers an alternative to prison custody for the most prolific offenders in Hertfordshire, many of whom have committed hundreds of crimes and have been in prison on a number of occasions. It is a partnership initiative between organisations including the Constabulary, Hertfordshire Probation Trust, Hertfordshire Criminal Justice Board, Drug Intervention Programme, Her Majesty's Court Service, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Prison Service, as well as many others.

Steve Johnson-Proctor, Director of Operations with Hertfordshire Probation Trust said: "Many people will think that only prison is suitable for cases like this. Michael had been to prison previously and quickly adapted to it but it did nothing to change him. Being on this programme has meant significantly fewer victims of burglary and the misery that brings, as well as changing Michael's life so he can make a positive contribution to his community and be a decent role model for his young son."

He concluded: "We hear much about soft community sentences but C2 is anything but - and it works."

Those admitted on to the programme must be non-violent offenders and tend to have an addiction of some kind. They must admit the full extent of the crimes they have committed and comply with strict conditions including close monitoring, attend drugs treatment courses and undergo continual drug testing where necessary, and an offending behaviour programme. If they don't, they return to court to be sentenced for the full extent of their criminality.

Key aspects of the scheme:

• If candidates do not stick to the programme, they face being sentenced for ALL the crimes they admitted at the start.

• It offers a cheaper and more effective alternative to imprisonment for those prolific criminals willing to commit to the intensive programme.

• Hundreds of thousands of pounds are saved in investigation costs from both those crimes admitted by the candidate and the prevention of potential crimes whilst the candidates are adhering to the conditions of the programme.

• 67 per cent of all victims support the scheme and 16 per cent are ambivalent.

• On average, each offender joining the scheme has spent 47 per cent of their offending lives in prison and has each served an average of nine separate custodial sentences.

• It provides a long-term solution to the reduction of crime in Hertfordshire - rather than the continuous cycle of offending, prison, reoffending.

• An independent cost/benefit analysis of the C2 programme revealed savings of up to eight times the investment. Based on an average offending rate of 112 crimes per year, the costs to society of one prolific offender committing crime per year is £178,640; the costs of imprisoning an adult for a year is around £45,000, the C2 scheme costs around £3,000 per offender per year.

• With often hundreds of crimes admitted by the candidate, every victim of their crimes is updated that the person responsible has been identified and the scheme is explained to them.

With reduction in offending being the aim of the programme, innovative ideas have been introduced to measure that success. For example, some offenders are wearing GPS trackers, from a company called Buddi, which can be used to show that they are not offending.

There are currently 25 candidates on the programme from across the county.

-Ends-

For further information, please contact Simon Feldman, Senior Press & PR Officer in Corporate Communication on 01707 354588.

A photo of Michael is available - editors are asked to not use any previous photos of Michael please.