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The NEPACS Good Practice Awards 2009 NEPACS and the people who receive its annual awards for resettlement work were jointly congratulated by the minister who presented the 2009 awards at Lumley Castle, Chester-le-Street on July 17th. Deputy Minister for the North East region, Roberta Blackman-Woods, told the winners and the audience of prison governors, officers and representatives of the probation and other services, that she greatly admired the range of work to help prisoners avoid re-offending. The Durham City MP, whose constituency includes three prisons, said: “My interest in criminal justice and resettlement predates my time as an MP, and I appreciate very deeply what a fantastic job you all do. Reducing re-offending is top of the government’s justice agenda. Support from the Third Sector is vital, and we are very fortunate to have NEPACS, which is a great organisation, well-respected and effective, here in this region. Some people in the voluntary sector know aspects of resettlement problems better than most.” The four NEPACS Awards for 2009, presented at Lumley Castle, included a special one for Christine Slassor, a long-serving member of the NEPACS team who was nominated by HMP Durham. They celebrate projects that combat alcohol abuse, improve job prospects and protect vital links between offenders and their families. A further 19 certificates were given for Highly Commended work in areas such as training, managing finance, building social confidence, handling relationships and engaging positively with the wider community. Nominations came from probation services or prisons and youth offender institutions all over the region for this fifth year of the NEPACS Awards. NEPACS chairman, Jim Black, said: “ The winners of the awards and certificates represent a dedicated and largely unrecognised body of people. They are professionals and volunteers who do very positive work in helping offenders cope with the issues that trap many of them back into crime when they leave prison. It offers them and their families more hope, and it’s better for our communities.” For high resolution copies of the images please email keithseacroft@btinternet.com Awards winners for 2009 
SAPHRON NORTH- County Durham & Darlington Alcohol Rolling Programme The North East is the UK’s first region to bring together a wide range of stakeholders –including the NHS, police & probation services and councils – in such a project. The initial pilot scheme in Easington has now gone county-wide. It provides structured day care in community locations to both offenders and non-offenders with alcohol abuse problems. The award recognises a high completion rate and a significant reduction in alcohol use. Saphron has overseen the programme from the outset and shown great enthusiasm and energy in getting it off the ground. She receives the award on behalf of the staff of the programme. 
KEVIN TREBILLCOCK & JOHN BRIDGEMAN - HMYOI Castington, Northumberland 
GRANT PEARSON, of HMP Holme House, Stockton SPECIAL AWARD FOR RECOGNITION OF OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT 
CHRISTINE SLASSOR, Children’s Projects Manager, NEPACS Christine has worked for the charity NEPACS since 1996. With her hands-on approach and unstinting hard work she has developed facilities for children and families visiting prisons throughout the northeast to its present level of excellence. They include play areas in visitors’ centres and within prisons. They aim to reduce stress in visits and enable prisoners to maintain family relationships that will support them in their resettlement after release. Her nomination is for her outstanding work and commitment, which are widely respected and valued, and for the optimism and care she has promoted through the years. CERTIFICATES OF HIGH COMMENDATION 2009 
HMP Acklington Scott Freebairn Jobcentre Plus Advisor Jerry Hunter Front of House Manager Chris Kemp Citizens Advice Bureau Advisor John Moodie Teacher in Resettlement HMYOI Castington Sandra Stobbs Safer Custody group of the National Offender Management Service HMYOI Deerbolt Amanda Moffett Senior Officer Julie Garbutt Officer in Offender Management Unit HMP Durham The Family Links Team HMP Low Newton Stephen Whiskens Administrative Officer, Offender Management Gary Durham Offender Supervisor Sarah Thompson seconded Probation Officer HMP Holme House OSG/Dog Handler Group Operational Support Grade staff and dog handlers, for their continual professionalism in a job very much in the public eye which is often taken for granted, that requires high levels of courtesy and skill. HMP Kirklevington Barry Vernon retired prison officer Stockton Library Service staff Teesside Probation Service Gemma Adams, Gillian Sheret and Kay Stallard Lynne Urban Susan O’Brien
Awards 2008 The 2008 awards were presented on 4 July by Sunderland South MP Chris Mullin at Lumley Castle Chester-le-Street. Three awards were given, as well as nine certificates recognising high achievement. Winners Michelle McCarthy – Head of Learning & Skills , HMP Durham Michelle, who joined the Prison Service from the Learning and Skills Council in 2006, has reorganised and revitalised activities to equip prisoners with significant qualifications. This boosts their self-respect, confidence and job readiness. She has built up new relationships with the wider community including employers, and improved the prospects for ex-prisoners to find work and cut their risks of re-offending. John and Maureen Forster - Cowgate Garden Project John Forster, a Senior Officer at HM YOI Castington, in Northumberland, and his wife Maureen, who manages the Unpaid Work Scheme for Northumbria Probation Service, provided a vital link in a network of bodies and organisations involved in an ongoing five-year Restorative Justice project to improve the gardens of retired people living in Cowgate, Newcastle. It enables offenders to repair the harm that crime causes to victims, communities and to themselves. With help from the Prince’s Trust, the young inmates at Castington plant the seed and bring on the plants; Newcastle City Council transport plants to the site, where adult offenders sentenced to carry out Unpaid Work, clear overgrown gardens and create new flower-beds and hanging baskets. The project raises offenders’ sense of responsibility and being part of a community. Liz – an inmate at HMP Low Newton Liz has provided valuable input and support for other women inmates in promoting personal safety, in preparing for resettlement and maintaining family ties. She became a Listener, one of the helpers trained to by the Samaritans, to be on call for fellow inmates to talk to about personal problems, and later, a Listener Co-ordinator, liaising with prison staff and outside organisations to run the service. She has also helped the New Bridge organisation in producing a booklet about children's visits, and with the prison’s Housing Advice Office. Note: The offender's name has been changed as a matter of support towards her own resettlement. Certificates for Highly Commended work were awarded to: Julie Alderton, Durham Probation Service – promoting multi-agency work in Prolific Offender management in Wear Valley and Teesside. Sandra Seymour, HMP/YOI Low Newton – Head of Offender Supervision & Public Protection Manager developing highly-regarded risk assessment and protection systems. Yvonne Pape, HMP/YOI Low Newton – as a seconded Probation Officer, developing the housing advice service for women offenders preparing for release. Claire Vallente, HMP Durham - Probation Officer, for promoting childcare issues and family ties. Training & Employment Group, HMP Kirklevington – Prison Officers Chris Brentley, Gary Lamb, Terry Martin and Steve Roberts, who work with Task Forces of prisoners who carry out improvements to property and grounds in the community for the benefit of retired people, school-pupils and others in the Middlesbrough and Stockton areas. Nacro & Finchale Training College, Durham – Jointly, the College and Nacro, the national crime-reduction charity, have developed an initiative where support workers engage with offenders, before and after release, to help them undertake vocational courses as a step towards a new future. It particularly addresses people with disabilities, those who missed time in mainstream education, and repeat offenders.
Winners 2007 Three awards were given this year, all for work in the community: Lorraine Beadle, Northumbria Probation Service For work with colleagues to develop a specialised supervision programme working with those who committed arson offences. Craig McGuire, Durham Probation Service For developing a programme of debt counselling, including collaborative work with CAB, that helps alleviate problems that clearly fuel acquisitive crime. Gordon Wooding, Teesside Probation Service For work in community service which has succeeded in enabling the community to recognise that the aspiration to rehabilitate is realistic and can work. Winners 2006 Work in Prison Sonia Hills, HMP Kirklevington Work in the Community Joe Howard, Durham Probation Winners 2005 Work in Prison Del Stevens, Northallerton Young Offenders Institution Work in the Community Julie McShane, Teesside Probation Officer Lifetime Achievement Award Neil Turver, Teesside Senior Probation Officer, at present working at HMP Kirklevington
NEPACS Public Meeting 2008 On Tuesday 6 May at the Gala Theatre, Durham. Anne Owers, HM Chief Inspector for Prisons, spoke on Prisons: What Next. NEPACS Public Meeting 2007 A full house gathered at the Gala Theatre Durham on Thursday 3 May, to hear Paul Cavadino, Chief Executive of NACRO, speak on Resettlement Matters: How we can reduce offending. Mitch Egan, North East Regional Offender Manager, responded with the North East perspective.
NEPACS Conference 2005 Prisoners & their Families: Sustaining the Links: At:Collingwood College, Durham, 5 September 2005 NEPACS' third national conference looked at the importance of family relationships to an offender and the trauma and disruption to family life caused by a prison sentence. It focused on how statutory and voluntary sectors can work with prisoners and their families, particularly examining: a)research into families and prisoners, including the effects of imprisonment on the roles of parents and its consequent effect on the family b)what is being done or can be done to ameliorate the effects of separation and improve the resettlement prospects of prisoners c)what challenges are presented for the Criminal Justice System inthe light of research? The conference approached this subject from an international perspective, with principal speakers from Europe, Canada, and England and Wales providing an overview of the challenges and approaches they experience. The day was interspersed with a number of workshops relating to the theme and allowing delegates to engage with the issues. Chairman: Mike Worthington former Chief Probation Officer, Northumbria & Visiting Professor of Community Safety, University of Northumbria Speakers: Christine Knott former Chief Probation Officer for Greater Manchester, Deputy Chief Executive, National Offender Management Service for England and Wales M.W. Wolleswinkel Associate Professor in Maastricht University & President of the European Committee on Children of Imprisoned Parents (EUROCHIPS) Lloyd Withers National Co-ordinator of the Canadian Families and Corrections Network Workshops Swedish initiatives with prisoners' families Rita Christensen & Pernilla Lindgren Family relationships in a Scottish women's prison Sue Brookes, Governor, HMP Cornton Vale, & Annette Phillips Good practice in sustaining family ties Mark Heybourne, Deputy Manager, Action for Prisoners' Families Preparing prisoners & their families for resettlement Deborah Marshall, SMARU, & David Biddle, head of Learning & Skills, HMP Acklington Reaching the parts others can't reach - focussing on black families POPS Experiences of prisoners' families Victoria Wood, PhD researcher, & family members Families, prisoners, & tackling addiction ADFAM, Cristina Osori, HMP Holloway Working with Offenders families Teesside Probation Family contacts in Women's and YP correctional institutions in Russia Strengthening families through couple relationships Chris Grimshaw, Chair, Time for Families
Resettlement, responsibility and the Individual Principle Speakers:
With reports on seminars on:
ISBN 0 9530187 2 5 NEPACS, 22 Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HW
The Child and the Prison "This report demonstrates what can and must be done if we are not to develop a damaged underclass from which we will inevitably reap the whirlwind…" ISBN 0 9530187 0 9 NEPACS, 22 Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HW |
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