Delivering circles of support and accountability to protect communities from sexual harm and sexual reoffending

Volunteer

Circles South West commissioned by the Ministry of Justice

Circles South West was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) effective from June 2023, to deliver Circles of Support and Accountability for People on Probation across the South West of England.

This marked a significant step forward on the part of the MoJ; HMPPS had not funded Circles in South West England for more than 5 years and it followed the publication of a thematic report by HM Inspectorate of Probation which highlighted the positive impact that Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA)  could have on those convicted of sexual offending.

Following a period of ‘mobilisation’ between June and August, the contract went ‘live’ in September of 2023 with the potential for referrals to be made from that point onwards.

The first two referrals were generated by HMPPS in September, both of which resulted in Circles; the first only lasted a couple of weeks before the Core Member decided it was not for him. However, the second one is still continuing and is the subject of a brief case study included within this article.

Thereafter, there was only a handful of new referrals during the first 5 months of the contract, 8 in total up to the end of January 2024, with only 3 active Circles at that point and with serious questions being asked as to whether or not the Contract was actually viable.

This was not only a local issue and, from discussions with the other providers of the contract nationally, it became apparent that there were some significant barriers in terms of the eligibility criteria that MoJ had set for referrals which served to minimise the number getting through.

After much debate and prolonged negotiations with the MoJ Contract Team centrally, some minor changes were made to the referral criteria in January 2024 and during February 2024 alone we had a further 21 referrals. On the face of it this was very good news, however, we were also advised that all new referrals had to be assessed by the end of April 2024 with a view to Circles starting, where appropriate, by the end of July 2024, in order to be able to complete by the end of July 2025!

This was undoubtedly a huge challenge for the team, but with everyone rallying round we completed all the assessments in record time. But it was then that the real challenge came; to gather sufficient volunteers to be able to start all those Circles where the potential core member was assessed as suitable for a Circle by the end of July.

This required a mammoth effort by everyone, not only to arrange the Circles and allocate existing volunteers to Circles, but also to recruit new volunteers to meet the need for all Circles to commence with a minimum of 4 volunteers allocated to each one.

It is a tribute to all concerned that, having had only 3 active Circles at the end of January 2024, by the end of July there were 20 active Circles. There could have been more, but inevitably there were some that ended prematurely due to the arrest or recall of the CM and a small number which never started because the CM withdrew their consent prior to the Circle starting. Notably, however, no Circles failed to start due to a lack of volunteers, which is testimony to all those involved in the recruitment and training of our volunteers and also to a small but significant number of volunteers who agreed to be involved in 2 Circles concurrently!

And, at the time of writing, we are expecting 2 or possibly 3 more Circles to start by the end of September having gained agreement from the MoJ to run these on the basis that they should end by the end of July 2025, unless further MoJ funding is secured to extend the contract to a third year.

So much for all the numbers, which only tell a part of the story. What about the Core Members themselves?

The first thing to note is that, in terms of the eligibility criteria set out by the MoJ in the contract, all the core members must be assessed as high or very high risk of serious harm at the point of referral, which inevitably brings its’ own challenges. It is notable, however, given the risk profile of those in MoJ Circles, how few of those who have started a Circle have subsequently been arrested, recalled or have otherwise been excluded from a Circle; only 4 out of 24 Circles that have started to date.

The age profile is also interesting, with all age groups from 18-25 to 60+ represented, albeit with 9 aged from 18 – 30 compared with 28 aged over 30.

Likewise, the range of index offences also covers a wide range including those convicted of non-contact offences and those convicted of contact offences. If anything, it has been surprising how many of those referred have been convicted of non-contact offences only.

But of course every Circle is unique in its’ own right and the following case study is but one example.

Case Study:

This Circle was one of the first two to commence under the MoJ Contract and at the time of writing it is now approaching the end of the 10th month in operation.

The core member is subject to parole licence having been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for offences as follows:

Arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence (arranging to meet a child for sexual activity); Possession of indecent photograph of a child; Taking, permitting to be taken or making, distributing or publishing indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children; Possession of extreme pornographic images – a person performing an act of intercourse or oral sex with an animal.

The CM had one previous conviction for possession of Indecent Images x15, Extreme Images with dead or alive animals x3, Possession of Prohibited Images of Children x 3 and Distributing Images x 3.

He was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for these matters.

During his more recent sentence of imprisonment, the core member completed the Kaizen Programme (for those convicted of sexual offences) and also the Healthy Sex Programme (HSP). The latter programme is designed for adult men who have a conviction of a sexual offence or an offence with a sexual element and is delivered one to one.

The core member identified the following goals that he wanted to address during his time in a Circle, all of which were endorsed by his Probation Practitioner (PP).

  1. Personal relationships/friendships and social interactions/social integration more generally.
  2. Constructive use of his time be it by further developing his hobbies and interests or finding employment/voluntary work.
  3. Building his personal resilience and his sense of self-worth. Improving his self-awareness and personal growth and development generally.

As with all adult Circles, there were 4 volunteers assigned from the outset, all of whom had previous experience of delivering Circles of Support and Accountability.

The initial phase of the Circle was spent getting to know the core member and building a basis of mutual trust and respect and from the outset the core member appeared to be very open to discussing a wide variety of topics ranging from his offending to other more personal issues relating to his childhood upbringing and his relationships. He engaged well and seemed to be increasingly relaxed, open and honest with the volunteers. He was generally responsive and receptive to everything that was asked of him and he has freely shared information about his hobbies and interests bringing in examples of his carving and his photography for the volunteers to see.

His PP stated ahead of the first review that ‘I am really pleased that the CM has had such a positive start to the circles group and all reports back from him have shown positives. During this period of review the CM has passed a forklift licence course and it would be hoped that will enable him to find suitable work, which will add social support, esteem and positive routine. He is a skilled individual and his wood carving skills exceed photographed versions displayed in carving books he possesses. I particularly like his use of wood carving as it is a mindful (focused) activity. I suspect his use of carving adds elements of positive routine in to his life also, which is helpful’.

Despite all the positive feedback, however, a couple of home visits made to the core member by Police and Probation resulted in him receiving a warning from Probation regarding his use of certain apps which were deemed to be inappropriate due to the nature of the content; and the core member was left in no doubt as to the seriousness of these issues and that he faces enforcement action should there be any repetition.

There was a particular concern that, despite appearing to have a very active life pursuing a variety of hobbies including wood carving, photography, birdwatching and geocaching, all of which he did on his own, he remained quite socially isolated and  therefore vulnerable, to the temptation to seek solace through connections made online, with the increased risk of sliding back into his previous pattern of offending. Indeed, his PP said: ‘I would like him to explore with the circle how he might widen his social circle in a safe and responsible manner. I would like to see if he can scale up his carving activity and look to local carving groups/turning groups and thus increase skills and social contacts’.

Despite this, the core member seemed reluctant to engage in any significant social activities, including going out with the volunteers for a social event. And so it remained up until the mid-point of the Circle, although he continued to attend regularly and to engage well with the group.

It was at the second review meeting that a commitment was made for the core member to have at least one social meeting with the volunteers before the third review at the beginning of July.

This took place a few weeks after the second review and the change in the core members’ demeanour, following a meal out with the volunteers, was remarked upon by all of the volunteers at the third review. Indeed, they reported that, ‘he seems generally more relaxed and comfortable in the group, laughing and sharing a joke’. They also commented on his increased self-awareness of the risks he poses and his own vulnerability.

A further home visit by the PP and MOSOVO also confirmed that there had been no more access to inappropriate sites online or the use of inappropriate apps, and the core member himself appeared much more relaxed and open and keen to have further social meetings with the volunteers.

The Circle is now in the final 3 months of Phase One and meetings have been reduced to fortnightly. There has been a second social gathering and the circle has progressed well.

It was agreed with the PP and MOSOVO that the Circle should move to Phase Two at the end of October for a 3 month period and with the frequency of meetings further reduced to monthly to help consolidate the progress made to date, whilst also serving to manage the transition to the point where the Circle is no longer available to the core member.

Every Circle is unique and this case study serves as but one example. However, it gives a flavour of how, over a period of several months and with a lot of patience and perseverance, small, but significant changes can occur and as such this Circle exemplifies the strength of Circles of Support and Accountability as an effective way of working with some very challenging individuals.

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