Rod Aldridge

Rod Aldridge is an entrepreneur with over 40 years experience of working in the public and private sectors.

He is the founder of the Capita Group retiring in July 2006 as Chairman. Subsequently he established The Aldridge Foundation to continue his work on public service reform and to focus on his charitable activities.

• Educational underachievement & Social Exclusion
• Public Service Reform Partnership and Development
• Community Engagement

Background

In 2004 the cost of youth crime for Great Britain was in excess of £1 billion.  Every year an estimated 70,000 school age offenders enter the youth justice system. Re-offending rates are high and 78.4% of 18 to 21 year olds are reconvicted within 2 years of being released. Furthermore, young offenders who have been in young offenders institutes for up to 12 months usually re-offend within 3 to 6 months. This clearly demonstrates the need to do something to help break the cycle of offending and prevent more young people facing the likelihood of a one-way ticket to further exclusion.

The idea for this project came directly from offenders through consultation and a seminar: 'Breaking the Cycle of Offending' held by The Prince's Trust in December 2006, hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales. Throughout the consultation, service users unanimously said they wanted tailored 1-2-1 support from people with similar backgrounds.

This project recognises the complex needs of offenders and offers ongoing support using fully trained 'Supporters' who have broken the cycle of offending and now live successful lives. The concept of the programme is to change the culture of dependency by prisoners on the statutory services and empower them to take control of their futures. It also aims to help break the stigma attached to being an offender and highlight the potential for change.

The project lead is Mark Johnson, Prince's Trust Special Advisor and ex-offender, overseen by a Steering Group. The Trust is consulting with a number of organisations to develop the project including The Prison Service, The Probation Service, YMCA, drug treatment specialists and Rainer.

The project is being developed between June and November 2007. During this phase it is being piloted in the South West of England in HMYOI Portland, HMP Channings Wood and HMP YOI Guys Marsh, aiming to recruit 30 Supporters.