The Justice Minister has met teams working across the Probation
Board for Northern Ireland, to hear how they manage the
challenges of rehabilitating, reintegrating and reducing
re-offending.
Minister was joined by Chief Executive,
Amanda Stewart and Probation Board Chair, Houston, on a visit to the
organisation's Belfast headquarters.
Praising the work of the service, Minister Long said:
“It's invaluable to hear firsthand from staff at the
Probation Board for Northern Ireland, the approaches used to
enable safer communities by helping people to desist from crime
and stop reoffending.
"Breaking the cycle of reoffending by working across the
courts, communities and prisons takes great partnership and
dedication.
“This partnership approach is essential in order to
tackle re-offending and the causes of crime.”
She chatted to staff and discussed a range of issues from the
value of community sentencing to responding to victims' needs. Up
until the end of March this year, the Probation Board for
Northern Ireland supervised 4,107 service users on a combined
total of 5,743 orders, licenses and sentences; completed 6,397
pre-sentence/court reports and supported 566 victims registered
with the Victim Information Scheme.
Note to Editors:
1. PBNI is an arm's-length body of the Department of Justice and
plays a key role in preparing reports for the courts and others,
supervising people who have offended, delivering programmes to
support behavioural change and delivering a Victim Information
Scheme.
