LRPT staff receive commendations from HRH The Princess Royal

Probation’s Carrie Peters and Charlotte Talbott received their commendation certificates at the recent annual presentation in London of the 2010 Butler Trust Awards.

HRH The Princess Royal is patron of the Butler Trust, which was set up in 1985 in memory of Home Secretary Rab Butler. It is an independent registered charity funded by charitable trusts, as well as receiving corporate and some statutory support.

Butler Trust awards and commendations are given independently of the England and Wales, Scottish and Northern Ireland Prison and Probation Services and Criminal Justice Social Work Services in Scotland.

Probation Director Carrie Peters and Clinical Treatment Manager Charlotte Talbott were nominated for their leadership roles with the Criminal Justice Drugs Team (CJDT), based in Leicester which primarily targets offenders with substance abuse issues.

Every year the integrated drugs team works with more than 1000 men and women who have been sentenced by the courts, or who volunteer for treatment, to combat their drug dependency. In 2008 the National Treatment Agency gave the CJDT the highest quality rating for drug treatment provision in Leicester and surrounding counties. Acting Chief Executive Trevor Worsfold commented:

“Carrie Peters helped pioneer a new way of working which sees that each drug misuser is now allocated a drugs worker who remains with them through the Criminal Justice System. This approach is much more conducive to building a good working relationship. In the past an offender’s case was handed over to a different drugs worker after sentencing. “Charlotte Talbott developed a support structure that ensures the team offer each participant a clinical package which includes prescribing, immunisation, Hepatitis C testing and a range of complementary therapies to help minimise withdraw symptoms.

This approach is now being promoted by the Ministry of Justice as being an example of good practice. We are delighted that their dedication and visionary work has received this national recognition.“

NEW DEVELOPMENTS

A further development for the CJDT is that the team has received funding to work with male and female offenders with alcohol issues. The new provision is called the Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR), which was introduced with the Criminal Justice Act 2003 as one of twelve requirements that can be attached by sentencers to a Community Order.

The ATR is for offenders, who are heavily dependent on alcohol, but have a dependency that is susceptible to treatment.

Carrie Peters and Charlotte Talbott said that ‘They were delighted to receive their commendations and felt the national acknowledgement was a reflection on the dedication and professionalism of the whole of the Criminal Justice Drugs Team.’

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Nationally it is estimated that approximately 10% of the active offender population is responsible for half of all crime and that a very small proportion of offenders (0.5) are responsible for one in ten offences. A high proportion of those offenders, identified as prolific offenders, are problematic drug users committing a high volume of acquisitive crime to support a drug dependency.

Established in October 2006, the Criminal Justice Drugs Team involves the Police, the Probation Service and Addaction, a national charity that works with people with drug and alcohol issues. The CJDT is the operational face of the Drug Intervention Programme in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Drug Work

At the local CJDT, drug misusers are now routinely offered a health assessment as part of their first induction, which has seen a significant increase in immunisation against Hepatitis A and B. The immunisation rate has increased from 6% up to 45%. Testing for Hepatitis C has increased from 20% to 80%.

To support medical interventions, the team provides drugs misusers with an opportunity to work with a clinical hypnotherapist, and to attend sessions for auricular acupuncture, aromatherapy and professional counselling among other interventions.

Alcohol work