£70m to keep prison leavers off the streets and cut crime in Greater Manchester

A £70 million investment aims to keep prison leavers off street and cut crime in Greater Manchester.
£70 million has been invested to keep prison leavers off the streets and cut crime£70 million has been invested to keep prison leavers off the streets and cut crime
£70 million has been invested to keep prison leavers off the streets and cut crime

The government scheme will see homeless prison leavers temporarily housed in basic hostels to reduce the risk of them re-offending.

It seeks to tackle the root causes of crime, with offenders around 50 per cent more likely to break the law again if released without somewhere to stay.

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The funding follows last week’s £148 million investment to combat illegal drug supply and treat addictions, taking the total spent to £220 million.

The scheme is being launched in five areas of the country, including Greater Manchester.

More than £20 million will be invested in supporting prison leavers at risk of homelessness into temporary basic accommodation for up to 12 weeks.

Around 3,000 offenders will be supported in the first year. While there, offenders will get help to find a permanent home so there is less reason for them to turn back to crime.

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At least £23 million of funding will go towards the Government’s plans to build 200 new spaces in Approved Premises, formerly known as bail hostels. These allow probation staff to closely monitor and support the highest-risk offenders in the community.

It will also fund new training for staff, increased security, and vital repairs and maintenance. The expansion will see an extra 1,700 prison leavers receive closer supervision each year, with the aim of boosting public safety.

Prisons and Probation Minister Lucy Frazer QC MP said: “Releasing prisoners without addressing why they ended up there in the first place, only leads them to re-offend and cause more harm.

“By tackling homelessness, we are cutting crime, reducing drug and alcohol misuse and making our streets safer. This low-cost solution has the potential to save billions for the taxpayer and prevent thousands of people becoming victims.”

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Last week, the Government announced new drug treatment funding as part of a £148 million investment to cut crime and protect people from the scourge of illegal drugs. It includes:

- An extra £80 million invested across England to increase the number of substance misuse treatment places for prison leavers and those diverted into tough and effective community sentences.

- £40 million of new money to tackle drugs supply - doubling the funding available for law enforcement to take down county lines gangs and drug kingpins.

- £28 million invested into piloting Project ADDER – a new intensive approach to tackling drug misuse, which combines targeted and tougher policing with enhanced treatment and recovery services. It will begin in five areas with some of the highest rates of drug misuse: Blackpool, Hastings, Middlesbrough, Norwich and Swansea Bay.

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An extra £6 million will be spent in the coming year improving the work done across Government to reduce re-offending.

The £20 million Prison Leavers Project is also underway to find and test new ways to prepare offenders for life on the outside and stop them falling back into criminal lifestyles.

Local organisations will be able to bid for grants and a £1 million competition is being launched to encourage start-ups to create new technology-based support services.