Special report: Behind the scenes at hostel for criminals (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

Special report: Behind the scenes at Kew Approved Premise - where more than 20 convicted criminals are held

6:50am Sunday 7th March 2010 in News

Helping: Interventions offender supervisor Kim Sexton, manager Hans Weijman and deputy manager Dana McLean

The mention of offenders being housed in the community is enough to strike fear into residents’ hearts, but Chris Wickham discovers a place where it can, and does, work

Much is made of Richmond being the safest borough in London.

Crime levels are low, certainly when compared to most boroughs, murders are rare, thankfully, and even serious assaults are few in number.

So to hear more than 20 convicted criminals all live under one roof in the area might come as a shock to many.

Yet that is exactly the situation at the Kew Approved Premise, owned and operated by the probation service – where offenders recently released from jail try and slot back into society.

The site, close to Kew Gardens station and North Sheen recreation ground, used to be a bail hostel, but manager Hans Weijman is keen to send out the message that what happens there now is very different from its former existence.

He says: “There is a world of difference.

“In bail hostels people are on bail and have been put there by the courts.

“We mainly take people just out of prison, usually for a few months.

“They come here on licence – all they really want to do is keep their noses clean, find a job and move on again.

“They don’t want to waste their time.

“We know where they are, we know where they live and they have to sign in at a certain time.”

At the 22-bed Kew Approved Premise, one of 100 around the country, men who have been released early from their sentences and told to complete them under licence are given a place to stay.

They are helped into work or training and given counselling and support to slot back into their old lives, or a new life.

The aim is to do this all in just six months, but many stay longer depending on their circumstances.

Mr Weijman, 57, worked at the premise for four years in the early 1990s, when it was a bail hostel, and returned in 2001.

He has worked in the residential side of the probation service for more than 20 years.

He described life for residents of the unit as “managed freedom”.

He says: “We have 37 security cameras, and before anyone comes here there is a risk conference.

“We can never eliminate risk, things can go wrong and when they do they can go dramatically wrong, but we manage that risk.”

He explained that all approved premises take in offenders who have been in jail for all sorts of crimes and, although confidentiality bars him from revealing names or saying too much, he admitted there are those convicted of murder or manslaughter going through the unit.

Much of the work of any approved premise is to make sure someone is ready to go back on the streets, find out why they commit offences and stop it happening again.

Kim Sexton is an interventions offender supervisor at Kew and works with the released prisoners, identifying if they have drug, mental health or alcohol problems.

The work starts in prison, and includes work on victim empathy, improving training, literacy and numeracy, along with an effort to “de-institutionalise” offenders.

But there is little doubt protecting the public is the primary aim.

She said: “We build up a relationship and get to know them, we can tell if they’re a bit down and try to find out why.

“They are people the same as everyone else.”

Mr Weijman added: “The key to managing a hostel like this is to prevent anything happening.

“So far we have done that in my 13 years here and we do that by being proactive.

“We have round the clock staff here and if we really believe there is a likelihood of someone offending we will put restrictions on them.

“If we don’t think we can put sufficient safeguards in place we send them back to prison, but we don’t do it often.

“We try to work today to prevent something happening next week.”

Everything that happens at Kew is part of a process known as Mappa – multi-agency public protection arrangements – where organisations including the probation service, police and councils work together to decide the best way to deal with offenders, and it has proved to be successful.

Mr Weijman said Kew has been top of the list in the national audit of premises for the past three years and “leaders in the field in London” over the same period.

“We are very proud of the work we do,” he says.

Dana McLean, deputy manager, added: “The guys here are focused on helping themselves – if they can move back to their families that’s our aim. If not, we want to move them on in the best way.”