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It is just over 2 years ago that Circles South West was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to deliver Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) for People on Probation across the South West of England.

This marked a significant step forward on the part of the MoJ which had not previously funded this work in our region and it followed the publication of a thematic report by HM Inspectorate of Probation highlighting the positive impact that CoSA has on those convicted of sexual offending.

Now, 2 years on, I am taking the opportunity to reflect on progress and the impact which this has had in terms of what we have achieved over this period.

In the 2 years up to the end of July 2025 a total of 57 referrals were received of which 42 were deemed suitable and started a Circle. The remaining 15 were either deemed unsuitable at assessment or became ineligible due to a change of circumstances.

Of the 42 deemed suitable and offered a Circle, 2 subsequently ended early when the Core Member withdrew consent and a further 5 ended prematurely due to recall or the arrest of the Core Member for fresh offences.

30 have since completed successfully leaving 5 active plus one in Phase 2 (i.e. continuing beyond the initial 12 month period) at the end of Contract Year 2.

A further 13 Circles having started in August/September 2025 in Contract Year 3 so that at the time of writing there are 18 Circles active in Phase 1 and 1 in Phase 2.

So what constitutes a successful completion?

The first and most obvious measure of success is the completion of 12 months in a Circle without further arrest, conviction or recall, but even those who are recalled or arrested for further offences have often made some progress during their time in a Circle and in at least 3 of the which ended early the Core Member had completed at least 6 months in their Circle and had made some positive progress, particularly in terms of their sense of self-worth and self-confidence. So that, although there has been a lapse of some kind this should not necessarily be deemed a complete failure.

Other measures of success might include securing suitable and settled accommodation, securing employment, commencing some form of education or training, or simply engaging in some form of purposeful activity and achieving some degree of social inclusion.

Indeed, a recent audit undertaken by the Ministry of Justice Contract Management Team of 27 Circles that had ended noted a range of positive outcomes as follows:

‘Increased Confidence & Self-Esteem were the most consistently reported benefit to Service Users (see Table. 1). Several SUs also reflected on how the Circle helped them overcome social anxiety and isolation, enabling them to engage more confidently in social situations and community activities’.

Table 2

 ‘Many service users (SUs) reported personal growth and improved social skills with most describing the Circle experience as transformative, helping them set and pursue new goals, secure employment, or improve and/or retain their existing living situations.

Direct feedback was generally positive, with SUs appreciating the supportive environment, attitudes & encouragement of volunteers, and opportunities for personal development. Some SUs also noted the Circle helped them feel better about themselves and provided a safe space to discuss difficult topics’.

None of this would have been possible without our amazing volunteers whose dedication and commitment is the bedrock of the organisation and without whom Circles simply could not run. And it is a requirement that all MoJ contracted Circles must have a minimum of 4 volunteers allocated at the outset. Given that we have started 42 Circles over the first 2 years of the MoJ Contract this equates to a minimum of 168 volunteers actively involved in the delivery of this service. And the contribution of these volunteers was rightly referenced in the MoJ Audit of completed Circles which stated that:

‘Volunteers played a key role in supporting SUs, helping with goal setting, CV development, and encouraging engagement in community activities’.

The MoJ Audit concluded:

‘Overall, the audit demonstrates that Circles South West are able to deliver positive outcomes for most service users who engage willingly and completely – particularly in building confidence, self-awareness, and social inclusion’.

No report about our work in delivering the MoJ Contract would be complete without reference also to our wholly dedicated and brilliant staff who have worked tirelessly and often up against ridiculous deadlines to set up, coordinate and oversee the delivery of all these new Circles, and not forgetting our amazing Volunteer Coordinator without whom we would not have been able to recruit and train all the volunteers necessary to meet the MoJ requirements.

In conclusion, whilst the delivery of the MoJ Contract has been at times incredibly challenging, the outcomes that have been achieved and which are so clearly evidenced in the MoJ Audit itself, make it all worth while as every Circle successfully completed contributes to the overall goal of No More Victims!

Case Study:

The Core Member (CM) is a 63-year-old male who was referred to CSW by his probation officer in September 2024.

The CM was convicted in 2014 of 13 offences of rape, sexual assault, gross indecency with a female child under 14, causing a female to engage in sexual activity without consent and taking indecent photographs of children. The offences were against his daughter and took place over a 16-year period when she was aged 9 to 25-years-old.  He was sentenced to 20 years custody.  It is worthy of note that throughout his offending, the CM was working as a professional in the criminal justice system and was in a position of power and influence.

He had a previous caution from 2005 for ‘using disorderly behaviour or threatening/abusive/insulting words likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress’. This related to him being discovered taking photographs of children in a local superstore. He later admitted that his motivation for this was sexual.

At the point of referral, the CM was assessed as presenting a high risk of sexual harm to girls, both within the family and outside.

Identified and agreed goals to address in Circles’ meetings:

• Reduce social isolation – to improve Core Member’s safe engagement within the community, by encouraging and supporting development of appropriate friendship groups and hobbies/constructive use of time, which in turn will potentially lead to a reduction in stress, boredom, and loneliness.
• To help improve the Core Member’s emotional health and self-esteem – address issues of guilt and shame and that may prevent him from meeting some of his needs in a pro-social manner that sexual offending previously met for him (using the Good Lives Model).
• To help the CM develop a robust relapse prevention plan complimenting the work he is undertaking with his probation officer and that he previously completed on the Horizon programme.
• Monitoring and accountability – to work closely with probation and police to monitor the CM’s behaviour, attitudes and beliefs and to hold him accountable for progressing towards an offence-free life.

This has been an excellent example of what a circle can achieve with a motivated and committed CM and a group of volunteers who are able to balance support and accountability; they treated him with dignity and compassion, advocated on his behalf, but were never afraid to challenge him, to monitor and share concerns with the outer circle and to hold up a ‘mirror’ to him when needed.

This circle ran from October 2024 for one year. The CM attended 43 circle meetings plus 3 reviews, which is an admirable achievement and demonstrated his commitment to the Circle and the volunteers and suggested his willingness to make changes to his life and move forward.

The CM was always on time, reliable and friendly; he often asked for help and listened to the volunteers’ points of view.  He used the circle resource to focus on learning to understand himself better, to reinforce his relapse prevention plan and to generate ideas and support for how to live a ‘better life’.  He was always willing to be challenged or questioned, especially around difficult subjects such as his offending history and pattern, how to stay safe in the future, his emotional difficulties and his plans for the future.

The Circle meetings covered his past, present and future in detail and the CM had a clear plan how he wanted his life to be moving forwards over the next 10 years. The circle was consistently impressed with the CM’s determination to not reoffend and to be a ‘good person and lead a good life’.

The Circle had in-depth discussions with CM around his offending, modus operandi, victim issues,  and his pervasive and enduring sexual interest in children.  CM appeared open and candid and Circle highlighted how important, yet difficult this would have been for him.

The CM and the volunteers had regular discussions around his managing of his ongoing inappropriate sexual thoughts and feelings, especially over the summer months. It was a positive step that the CM was realistic, recognised and asked for help to deal with the various situations and scenarios that were risky for him over the life of the circle and in the future and with the help of the volunteers, worked out a plan to help manage these difficulties.

Throughout the life of the circle, there was much focus on how the CM was managing emotions and how he could improve this at the time and in the future. Circle concentrated on how the CM viewed himself, how he managed guilt and shame, his identification of unhelpful traits and behaviours and how these could impact on a non-offending life in the future. CM said he felt very comfortable talking to Circle about ‘anything’ and that because of big pieces of work done on emotions, he has learnt things about himself he never knew, such as the fact he’s a paranoid person

CM spoke at length about his future; specifically, that it was finally dawning on him that since he is now longer working, it is up to him how he wants to spend his time in this new part of his life. He is realising now he has the choice of relaxing more and doing a number of the things that he enjoys such as gardening, walking the dog etc. and that also contribute to him leading a ‘good life’. CM has started to recognise that he can be positive and happy about where he is in life and his future and is learning to be kinder to himself.

It was also a positive development that the CM started to socialise more through attendance at groups, talking to neighbours, chatting to others when dog-walking etc.  He has also been to a number of men’s group meetings and on walks with the Ramblers Association.

The CM faced some significant health issues over the course of the Circle but seemingly managed this extremely well and it was an open point of discussion in meetings, thus offering him support and empathy for this difficult time in his life.

A positive sign of his commitment, was his involvement CSW core volunteer training; furthermore, he agreed to talk about the pros and cons of being a core member at the CSW AGM, which took a lot of courage and insight on his part and for which CSW were very grateful.

At the end of the circle, the CM stated that his involvement had given him hope and a new-found sense of realistic optimism and had helped him feel settled in his ‘new life’. He spoke about his gratitude for the opportunity and for all the help, support, honesty and plain-speaking and accountability that he has been provided with by the volunteers.

At the end of the circle, the CM’s supervising police officer stated that the CM “has certainly improved his outlook on life; he has become positive and taking things in his general day to day in his stride where prior to the Circles meeting, he appeared isolated and very conscious of his surroundings and general well-being.