Maltese Visit

19 Dec 2009

Cheshire plays host to Maltese Probation Service

Probation officers from Malta have visited Probation Service units across Cheshire to learn about how offenders are managed in England.
The 10-strong party spent time with probation officers across the county on a two-week long European-funded fact-finding visit.
They spent time with offender management units at Chester, Warrington, Halton, Winsford and Crewe, as well as visiting Crown and Magistrates’ courts and prisons and young offenders’ institutions.
Senior Probation Officer Cherryl Peters said: “They have come over here to shadow us and look at how we do things.
“They want to set up a resettlement scheme similar to the one we operate because at present they don’t have anything like that on Malta.
“They don’t yet have an offender management system for those coming out of prison – in Malta it’s a case of you’re out and that’s it.
“That means you can’t manage the risk of those offenders who are more likely to be in danger of committing more serious offences.
“In other respects they fulfill similar functions to the Probation service here – they write reports for court, they have community service rather than the Community Payback programmes which we have and they have supervision orders.”
As part of their two-week stay the Maltese probation officers sat in on interviews with offenders as well as seeing how the Probation Service in Cheshire works with victims as well as offenders.
They were taken to prisons and young offenders institutions at Styal, Thorn Cross and Risley to see how the resettlement of offenders is begun before they are released.
The visit to Cheshire was organised by Maltese Senior Probation Officer Mariella Camilleri and Probation Officer Carmen Nygaard. Carmen said: “In Malta the Government is thinking about introducing a parole system and the probation service will be the main stakeholder in that.
“We decided it would be a good idea to take the initiative and organise some training and we were able to access European funding for it through the Leonardo Da Vinci programme.
“We have been able to bring a party from the Malta Probation Service after making contact with Cheshire Probation Area’s Assistant Chief Officer John Davidson.
“It has been a very worthwhile trip and we have learned a great deal about many aspects of how the Probation Service operates here in Cheshire.
“People have been very kind and the Probation Service here has been wonderful and when we visited Crown Court the judge also showed a great deal of interest in us and our work.”
Her colleague, Senior Probation Officer Miriam Sevasta, added: “We have been made very welcome here and the programme of activities they have organised has been excellent.
“Members of our party have been to different parts of the county to see how you operate here and while the work is similar, you have different structures and services here.”
Carmen added: “We have really enjoyed our time here and we have even been able to fit in a bit of shopping and a visit to Chester Zoo and we have been made very welcome.”
Cherryl Peters said: “It’s been a very enjoyable visit for us as well and it is good to make these connections with other Probation Services across Europe and hopefully we have been able to help our colleagues from Malta develop their service as well.”