News In Focus
30 January 2008
Turnaround Project aims to cut male reoffending
Funding of £3 million is to be invested in a project covering part of the west of Scotland, aimed at reducing the number of young men who reoffend.
The Turnaround Project targets young male offenders aged between 16 and 30, who are failing in other community based alternatives or who have had multiple remand or short term sentences.
The overall objective is to achieve a significant impact on reoffending rates for offenders in this age group, particularly those with serious drug and alcohol problems.
The model for the project draws very heavily on the successful "218" project in Glasgow for women offenders, operated by Turning Point Scotland on behalf of the local authority.
Turning Point Scotland are the project sponsors, supported by their voluntary sector partners Apex Scotland and Venture Trust, thus adding employment and outward bound opportunities. Turning Point Scotland have carried out widespread consultations with a range of agencies and organisations in the areas covered by the project and all have been very supportive of the initiative.
The service will be based in the Criminal Justice Authority areas, North Strathclyde and South West, and will include a 12-bed short-term residential unit and four community-based day support programmes.
A third of the funding for the project is being provided by independent trusts, such as the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland, the Gannochy Trust and the Robertson Trust, and The Big Lottery.
Root causes
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "This innovative service will pilot new ways of delivering services to a difficult to reach group and has been carefully designed to ensure men with drug and alcohol addictions can be dealt with more effectively. If we can begin to tackle the root causes of reoffending then we stand a better chance of cutting crime.
"I would like to acknowledge the substantial financial commitment being made from a number of charitable funding sources to support the project over the coming three years."
Mr MacAskill added: "By making the range of community penalties available to the courts as robust as possible we can help ensure they are used with confidence in all appropriate cases."