Targeting Prolific and Priority Offenders

Our Objectives:

• To prevent and deter young people from becoming prolific offenders

• To catch and convict those who are already prolific offenders

• To rehabilitate and resettle offenders who stop offending by offering a range of support

Lead Agencies and Working Groups

In 2004 the Home Secretary launched a Prolific and other Priority Offender (PPO) Strategy. The strategy is an initiative to reduce crime by targeting those who offend most or otherwise cause most harm to their communities.

• Prevent and Deter: East Sussex Youth Offending Team

• Catch and Convict: Eastbourne Sector Sussex Police

• Rehabilitate and Resettle: Sussex Probation Service

This is a multi-agency approach towards tackling the problem. Police, Crown Prosecution Service, Prisons and Probation work together, with Local Criminal Justice Board co-ordination.  The intention is to catch, convict, monitor and manage these offenders in the community or in custody, and work towards rehabilitating them.

The strategy allows Crime Reduction Partnerships to identify and select offenders using the following criteria:

• The nature and volume of the crimes they are committing

• The nature and volume of other harm they are causing to the Eastbourne community

• The adverse impact they cause to the Eastbourne community by their anti-social activity.

Targets

Targeting individuals in this way enables the partnership to deliver all of its crime reduction and anti-social behaviour targets.

The system helps to identify those individuals who are:

• the most prolific offenders

• the most persistently anti-social in their behaviour

• those who pose the greatest threat to the safety and confidence of their local communities.

It also allows partnership agencies to work with these individuals to stop their offending by offering a range of support. Offenders are offered the opportunity for rehabilitation or face a very swift return to the courts.