Reducing Reoffending

Leicestershire and Rutland Probation Trust (LRPT) personnel are responsible for 524 adults whose home address lies within the Charnwood Borough Council area. Of course, those who actually offend within this area can have home addresses that lie over a very wide area. With the use of offender data provided by Leicestershire Constabulary, and matched against home address data maintained by LRPT, it should be possible to estimate the approximate proportion of offences which can be attributed to persons not routinely resident in the area; however, this report is an initial analysis of adult offenders known to LRPT who’s recorded home addresses are within the Charnwood Borough Council area itself.

Analysis of Offender Cohort
This analysis is based on a 'rolling' analysis period ending at the end of September 2009. This is latest data that we have with the re-offending data. The total number of LRPT service users under supervision (and therefore within the 'NI 18' cohort) with a home address in Charnwood Borough Council area who are included within this analysis is 524.

Of these, in the period under review, 86 were found to have re-offended, a rate of 16.4%. This percentage is at the higher end of the range of re-offending rates amongst Leicestershire District authority areas.

There are 447 males, and 77 females making up around 14.7% of the caseload. This proportion is towards the higher end of a limited range within the county.

Community orders were in issue to 449 (85.7%) people and 72 were on a post-custody licence; three were subject to both (so the total proportion with a post-custody licence was 14.3%).

Drugs Misuse
The use of illegal drugs often affects the most vulnerable and socially excluded individuals in our communities, bringing a range of problems and areas of public concern. The harm caused by drug misuse is significant, wide-ranging and costly, approximately £15.4b per year for the most dangerous drugs, including crack cocaine and heroin. Substance misuse is linked to a range of criminal activity such as burglary, robbery and vehicle crime, often used to fund an increasing habit. However, the drug trade is also linked to more serious organised crime such as prostitution and the trafficking of people and firearms.

It is a Government priority to continue to do all it can, internationally, nationally and locally to reduce the harm caused by drugs. The complexities of the drug trade and drug misuse can only be tackled through collaborative working between a wide range of partners.