Mentors to support 16- and 17-year-olds on community sentences
Tristan Donovan
Monday, April 8, 2013
Crime prevention charity Catch22 is supplying mentors to young offenders in six London boroughs in a bid to steer them away from crime.
The project will see 16- and 17-year-olds with community sentences offered access to a mentor from Catch22 who will offer support and guidance designed to help them move on from their criminal past.
The work has been developed in conjunction with probation and youth offending teams from across the capital and is being funded by the public services company Serco, which operates the capital's Community Payback scheme.
At the moment, the service is being tested with young people in six boroughs: Camden, Croydon, Greenwich, Islington, Lewisham and Wandsworth.
Catch22 and Serco plan to expand the scheme to other boroughs later this year.
“The mentors will bring their different skills and experience to help these 16- and 17-year-olds complete their community sentences and prevent reoffending,” said Chris Wright, chief executive of Catch22.
Nick Cameron, contract director for Community Payback at Serco, said: “Many young offenders undertaking Community Payback fail to comply with their order or finish their sentence.
"Our aim is to ensure that young offenders complete their orders and have the support they need to help turn their lives around.”
