Winchester Conference on Reducing Re-offending

A conference that show-cased best practice in terms of rehabilitation and reducing re-offending of offenders was held at HMP Winchester in April 2007.  It demonstrated a clear intent to focus on best practice and what works. 

The two projects from Winchester & Southampton that were organising the conference were funded by EXODUS, through the European social fund, finding new ways of working in relation to resettlement of offenders.  One of these, the CLIC Project, which works in mid Hampshire, is run by Wetsgate Support + Care, a part of A2Winchester. The CLIC Project is a pioneering and visionary resettlement project within the Winchester area. 

The conference brought together professionals from a number of different backgrounds & experience.  The primary aim of the conference was to engage participants in dialogue identifying barriers and solutions to re-offending. These included housing finance and ways in which these projects can be championed in the local community.  Peter Jones, the Chair of CLIC said “these projects have capacity to repair these broken lives and provide hope and a purpose and a way out of self destructive cycles.”