Operational Policing
Prolific and other Priority Offenders
It is estimated that approximately 10% of the active offender population is responsible for half of all crime and that a very small proportion of offenders (0.5%) are responsible for one in ten offences. The Prolific and other Priority Offender (PPO) strategy was introduced in 2004 to provide end-to-end management of this group of offenders.
The Prime Minister launched the PPO programme in March 2004 as a cross-Government initiative to tackle those offenders who have been locally identified as committing the most crime and causing the most harm to their communities. It is a crime reduction programme with a reducing re-offending focus. The PPO programme replaced work under the Persistent Offender Scheme and has significantly improved the approach by allowing local areas to take into account:
- the nature and volume of the crimes an individual is committing;
- the nature and volume of other harm (for example, by virtue of their gang leadership or anti-social behaviour);
- other local criteria taking into account the impact of the individual on their local communities.
The programme is led by Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) in England and Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) in Wales, working closely with Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs). PPO schemes are now established in every CDRP and CSP area providing a joined-up multi-agency offender management model involving representatives from the local Police and Probation Services, Local Authorities and Youth Offending Teams.
PPO schemes across England and Wales are currently working with over 10,000 PPOs and a further 4,000 young offenders most at risk of becoming tomorrow's PPOs.
The Prolific and other Priority Offenders (PPO) programme
The three strands of the programme are:
Prevent and Deter
The primary aim of Prevent and Deter is to work intensively with those young offenders locally identified as being on the 'cusp' of becoming PPOs. The individuals within this Deter Target Group will be identified in response to an escalation in their offending and/or the harm they are causing to their communities which - though not yet at a level which would make it appropriate for them to be targeted under Catch and Convict - has led local partners to identify them for management through the multi-agency PPO approach.
Catch and Convict
A managed multi-agency approach to tackle the offending behaviour of those individuals locally identified as committing most crime and causing most harm to their communities.
Rehabilitate and Resettle
Multi-agency work providing supportive interventions to address the criminogenic needs of identified PPOs. It is important to recognise that there is a dynamic relationship between the Rehabilitate & Resettle and Catch & Convict strands with appropriate activities being conducted across both strands in parallel.
The strands are not mutually exclusive and activity is directed by the behaviour and needs of the identified offender - PPOs are offered the opportunity for rehabilitation or face a swift return to the courts.
Evaluation report published
An evaluation of the PPO Programme has now been published. It indicates that the programme has had a major effect on the offending rates of PPO with a significant reduction in recorded convictions. It also reports that staff working in PPO schemes are very positive about the programme, particularly around the benefits of increased partnership working and data sharing.
Read the report on the Crime Reduction website (new window).
