Ex-prostitute 'modern slave' helped by Worcester police

Leaders at a small, Worcester-based police team which manages hundreds of offenders say there is still a bright future waiting for former criminals - if they are willing to take the help offered.

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DS Kris Stevens of West Mercia's integrated offender management (IOM) team works with 163 offenders who have been convicted of a number of offences from shoplifting and burglary to stalking and domestic violence.

TEAM: L-R DS Lindsey Hewitt, DI Dave Knight and DS Kris Stevens

DS Stevens, based at Worcester Police Station in Castle Street, explained there was a woman with a traumatic start in life who had been supervised by the team.

The officer said it was 'quite unusual' in the way the woman had managed to successfully turn her life around after getting the right support, showing others this was possible.

"She was a young female brought into the cohort (of offenders) for persistent offending and anti-social behaviour with an underlying drug element," he said.

However, the team secured her support and rehabilitation for her and looked more deeply into the root cause of her offending.

DS Stevens said:  "We investigated her offending and the reasons she was offending and it was driven by the fact she was a victim of modern-day slavery at the hands of her dad who used her as a prostitute."

He said she was now a mum and no longer using heroin or crack cocaine.

"It's about rooting out those problems and robustly managing someone," he said.

DS Stevens said people in integrated offender management were subject to 'intense scrutiny' but could benefit from a multi-agency approach if they engaged with the help on offer which is ultimately what the team want.

"We call it engagement. It's about communicating with them, not gripping them on the shoulder" he said.

The aim of the team and other partners, he said, was ultimately to 'break the cycle of offending' and introduce offenders to other pathways, steering them away from the courts and the criminal justice system.

This may include identifying triggers for offending including debt, family circumstances, mental and physical health, attitudes and thinking skills, housing and education, training and employment.

DI David Knight who oversees the work of the team said: "We understand that many offenders have been victims themselves in the past and have had adverse childhood experiences that have had a knock-on effect on their future life.

"One of the roles of integrated offender management is to try and assist them to come to terms with what happened, allowing them to move on and look towards a brighter future."