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From criminal to good citizen

Sue Carr
1/10/2003

A REFORMED criminal and recovering drug addict has told how a new scheme to help repeat offenders has turned his life around.

The 32 year old is just one success story of Operation Rhodes - a joint initiative set up by Tameside Council, police and probation service to stop career criminals from re-offending.

The scheme - the brainchild of Sergeant Peter Johnson - is aimed at offenders who have committed three or more crimes within a year, are serving a community punishment or rehabilitation order, or are on licence from prison.

Through daily support from mentors and probation officers, offenders are given help on everything from finding a house to drug abuse and family problems.

Police have added powers of arrest if offenders breach the programme by, for example, missing a home visit.

Since the operation was set up 18 months ago, more than 70 criminals have been involved, with a massive 86 per cent drop in offending by this group.

Former career criminal 'John' started on the scheme last November after years of committing car crimes to fund his drug habit.

He has now been clean for two months, lives with his girlfriend and helps out at a local youth club - a world away from time spent living on the streets and relying on car crime to fund his £60-a-day heroin addiction.

He said: "When you are living like that it isolates you from everything but this has totally turned my life around.

"People think it is an easy way to escape jail but, if anything, it's harder because you have to put so much into it and if you slip up, you can end up back inside very quickly."

Superintendent Zoe Hamilton, of Stalybridge Police, added: "Our target was to cut crime committed by offenders on the scheme by 35 per cent and at the moment there is an 85 per cent reduction which speaks for itself."