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The National Probation Service occupies a central role in the criminal justice system. North Yorkshire is one of 42 probation areas in England and Wales that make up the National Probation Service. It is our job to prevent further crimes by effectively managing offenders who have been given a community sentence by the courts.
North Yorkshire is England's largest county, covering an area of over 3000 square miles. The total population is almost 813,000 with the principal urban areas being in York, Scarborough and Harrogate. We have over 200 staff based in 6 locations and we spent around £10 million last year to enable us to carry out our work.
The aims of the service nationally are:
Protection of the public
Protecting the public is the key aim to which all our efforts are directed. We take a lead role in judging how much of a risk an offender is to society – in terms of committing further offences and causing harm to other people.
Reduction of re-offending
Reducing the number of crimes committed is part and parcel of protecting the public. As part of their community sentence some offenders are required to attend specific programmes to address the cause of their offending behaviour.
The proper punishment of offenders
The probation service’s task is to match the offender to the right punishment, the sentence most likely to achieve the best results for society as a whole.
Ensuring offenders awareness of the effects of crime on victims of crime and the public
A key part of rehabilitating offenders is for them to confront the effects of their offending. Probation staff also work with the victims of violent or sexual crime where the offender has been sentenced to a year or more in prison.
The rehabilitation of offenders
In addition to ensuring the ‘proper punishment of offenders’ we aim to rehabilitate offenders – giving them the opportunity to become positive members of our communities.
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