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 PPO programme is a cross-government initiative to tackle those offenders who have been identified as committing the most crime and causing the most harm to their communities. The programme allows local areas to identify PPOs by taking into account:
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the nature and volume of crimes an individual is committing
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the nature and volume of other harm (for example, through their gang leadership or anti-social behaviour)
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other local criteria taking into account the impact of the individual on their local community
This programme is led by crime and disorder reduction partnerships (CDRPs) in England and community safety partnerships in Wales, working closely with local criminal justice boards (LCJBs). PPO schemes are now established in every CDRP and CSP area. They provide 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 three strands of the programme are:
Deter
Following a programme of work with the youth justice board, the new deter strand aligned to the youth justice scaled approach was introduced in January 2009 (replacing the previous 'prevent and deter' strand). Deter includes a single priority group of those identified locally as the most high-risk young offenders.
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 'rehabilitate and resettle' and 'catch and convict', with appropriate activities being conducted across both strands in parallel. They 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.
