Steve Brine, MP for Winchester and Chandlers Ford opened Hampshire Probation Trust's new Winchester Office on Friday 12th October. The opening of the new facility was the culmination of two year's work in the planning, refurbishment and relocation of almost 70 staff.
The Office in Cromwell House, Andover Road will see Offender Managers, who work with around 260 offenders from the Winchester and Eastleigh area, sharing their office with the Hampshire Probation Trust's Headquarters, which was previously located in the centre of Winchester.
Other teams that are located in the new office include the Trust's Victim Contact Unit, which supports victim's after an offender has been sentenced by the courts and the Employment, Training and Education team which works with offenders to help them to develop skills to find a job.
Steve Brine said: "I was really looking forward to opening the Hampshire Probation Trust's new Winchester office, and know that an awful lot of work has gone into this new arrangement. We need to do a great deal better in remembering the victims of crime and the devastating effect it has on peoples' lives and we need to see a step-change in working with offenders to get them out of the revolving door of recidivism that is so damaging to society as a whole. The Probation Trust will play an important part in helping to realise these ambitions both in Winchester and across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight."
Chief Executive of Hampshire Probation Trust, Barrie Crook, said: "This new office has been designed to ensure that staff are able to work effectively with offenders to protect the public and reduce reoffending. The merger of our two offices in Winchester are part of our strategy to consolidate the offices that we have, to ensure that we bring about efficiencies without affecting our frontline services."
Pictured; Steve, a member of the Justice Select Committee, discusses his work at the opening of the new office
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