NCJ Number
143529
Journal
Home Office Research and Statistics Department Research Bulletin Issue: 33 Dated: (1993) Pages: 18-24
Date Published
1993
Length
7 pages
Annotation
In 1988 the Great Britain Home Office established a short-term strategy for diverting young adult offenders from custody; the "Tackling Offending" initiative required each probation area to create a local action plan in consultation with police, courts, and other agencies and to establish intensive probation programs in selected areas.
Abstract
The impact of this initiative on the treatment of young adult offenders in Cambridgeshire and Humberside was evaluated through an analysis of all probation areas' action plans submitted to the Home Office. The evaluation also included an analysis of a survey of probation areas' responses to the initiative; and an investigation of the specific responses of the two study areas. The evaluation focused on targeting offenders at risk of custody, presentation to the courts, content of supervision programs, supervision and management of multi-agency programs. It also focused on monitoring and evaluation procedures. The findings showed that this initiative overlapped with several other projects begun during the mid-1980's, with the result that many areas framed their responses to "Tackling Offending" in terms of other work in progress. Services were hard-pressed to meet the many requests for information, strategies, and action plans being generated by the Home Office. Also, in general, the various initiatives were poorly coordinated, lacked systemic monitoring, and took little account of the impact of other programs. In addition, the Tackling Offending initiative guidelines were ambiguous and gave inadequate time allowances for implementation. However, the authors suggested that the development of a national research and information strategy would remedy many of these problems. The following sentence is unclear: Some key issues that should be addressed include the cooperation of sentencers with such an initiative and (This is not clear)probation sensitivities about making explicit the targeting of offenders at risk of custody. The report includes 7 references.