The Probation Board for Northern Ireland have published a film on YouTube to raise awareness of and confidence in community sentencing.

The 10-minute-long film “Changing Lives: The Inside Story of the Probation Service” shines a light on the impact community sentences have on the lives of people who have committed crime help them to break the cycle of offending. The film highlights real stories of transformation, providing a look at the realities faced by those on Probation.

Viewers will hear from Probation Officers, a service user, a victim of crime, a lecturer on Criminology and a District Court Judge. Each person interviewed tells of an important part about the work of Probation and how community sentencing can change lives for safer communities.

The film has been published online on the Probation Board for Northern Ireland YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzIoL0H86v4

Chief Executive Amanda Stewart said: “Probation is a public service which works to protect the public and reduce reoffending by supervising people who have offended in the community while overseeing their rehabilitation and resettlement.  Sometimes it can be difficult to articulate to the public exactly what probation does.  The best way of describing it, is that we help people to change their lives. This video shows in a simple way the work that Probation Officer’s carry out and the impact they can make on people’s lives”.

Che a service user featured in the film speaks of the changes he has made to his life: “I don’t know where I’d be without probation. I currently live in a temporary homeless shelter and my probation officer has been amazing and has helped me with my mental health and accessing housing. This is a second chance, and you can show to your family and the rest of the world that you’re not a bad person you’ve made mistakes but now you’re doing well.”

Criminologist Dr Brian Payne from Ulster University explains the benefit of community sentencing: “Community sentencing is an opportunity to promote people’s rehabilitation back into the community. Probation officers have extensive powers to ensure that a court order is upheld. They can go into people’s families and their houses, speak to their employers and make decisions that can be fed back to the courts. Whilst it can be difficult to directly compare sentences, research shows that people on community sentences are less likely to reoffend than those serving short prison sentences.”

Tuesday, October 29th 2024 between 9:30 AM — 1:00 PM BST

Programme

• Understand the state of knife crime in the UK today, its drivers, and how these should be addressed
• Examine the new Labour government’s plans to halve knife crime in a decade, assess the likelihood of this being achieved, and consider the challenges in its implementation
• Develop a comprehensive knife crime action plan that tackles knife crime and its causes
• Explore how practitioners from across the public and third sectors can improve collaboration and develop early intervention strategies to protect vulnerable young people and tackle knife crime
• Share police best practice in reducing incidences of knife crime
• Learn how survivors of knife crime and victims' families can be better supported

Confirmed Speakers : 

Emma Owen, Founder & Manager of the No More Knives & County Lines Tours

Click here to register online.

Published: 10 September 2024

• Catherine Schittenhelm, Maxime Kops, Maeve Moosburner, Saskia M. Fischer & Sebastian Wachs 

Abstract

Adolescence is marked by a unique blend of factors, including adolescents’ exploration of their emerging sexuality and growing engagement with digital media. As adolescents increasingly navigate online spaces, cybergrooming victimization has emerged as a significant concern for the development and protection of young people. Yet, there is a lack of systematic analyses of the current state of research. To this end, the present systematic review aimed to integrate existing quantitative research on prevalence rates, risk factors, and outcomes of cybergrooming victimization, informed by an adaptation of the General Aggression Model. Studies providing self-reported data on cybergrooming victimization of people between the ages of 5 and 21 were included. A total of 34 studies met all inclusion criteria, with most focusing on adolescence. Reported prevalence rates were characterized by strong heterogeneity, which could largely be attributed to the underlying methodology. Overall, the included studies showed that at least one in ten young people experiences cybergrooming victimization. Findings further indicated that various factors, for example, being a girl, being older, engaging in risky behavior, displaying problematic Internet use, reporting lower mental well-being, and experiencing other types of victimization, are positively associated with cybergrooming victimization. However, most studies’ cross-sectional designs did not allow for an evidence-based classification into risk factors, outcomes, and co-occurrences, so findings were embedded in the proposed model based on theoretical considerations. In addition, there is a noted lack of studies that include diverse samples, particularly younger children, LGBTQIA+ youth, and young people with special educational needs. These findings emphasize that cybergrooming victimization is a prevalent phenomenon among young people that requires prevention and victim support addressing multiple domains.