Together with our growing number of members, we bring together the largest group of criminal justice expertise all in one place to 'make a difference'.
There are over 2400 members in the award-winning No Offence! and it’s still growing fast. Why? Well it costs nothing to join, and provides access and opportunity in the criminal justice sector.
Come join us if you’re new here, and if you’re an old hand, thanks for your input.
We ARE making a difference – TOGETHER!!!!
Find out more about us: No Offence Leaflet.pdf
Management Team
Sue Clifford FlnstLM
Chief Executive
Sue is the founder and CEO of No Offence! CIC, Managing Director of Smartr Consulting Ltd and Director of Athena Delta Business Support Ltd.
Life within criminal justice began many years ago setting up a Samaritan Listener scheme within prison, which probably still fuels her passion, motivation and determination to continually push for positive change within the sector today. Sue has extensive business development and strategic positioning experience, derived from a variety of senior management roles within private, public and voluntary organisations. She is an 'out of the box thinker,' an accomplished strategist and with her ferocious attention to detail, we are assured that as an organisation, we have the vision, necessary support and capability to succeed.
Sue is a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management, married to John and has four grown up children.
Richard Rowley
Development Director
Richard is the founder and Development Director of No Offence! CIC and Director of Operations of Smartr Consulting Ltd.
Richard has worked in a wide range of roles across the criminal justice system within private, statutory and voluntary sectors and is a dynamic and skilled coordinator of multi-agency funding bids. A Prince2 Practitioner, he has a range of highly developed technical skills around partnership development and project management. Richard is a passionate advocate for improving services for all vulnerable people, especially those at risk of becoming involved with offending, utilising his negotiating and influencing skills to full effect. His passion comes from working on the frontline with offenders in prison and the community.
Tanya Smith MSc PGCE ACIEA MIfL
Reducing Re-offending Manager, Super-Moderator & Administration Assistant (Volunteer)
Tanya comes from a family of Police Officers, she spent 6 years as a Special Constable with Hampshire Constabulary, based in Portsmouth. Tanya then attended University, she started with a Criminology Degree and went on to complete a MSc in Criminal Justice Studies and a PGCE. She went on to teach Law, Sociology and Criminal Psychology in several 6th Form Colleges before taking a job teaching life-sentenced prisoners in HMP Kingston. Tanya believes that Offender Learning delivery needs to change drastically and that it needs to encapsulate 'progression of the individual' at it's core and must be 'of value' to the learner to be of any worth. She is considering starting a PhD. Tanya has 4 boys aged between 13 and 27 and lives in Southampton.
Nikki Rice
Manager
No Offence Works!
Originally from east London, Nikki began her career working within the vulnerable group sector after finishing college supporting people to gain training and employment. Nikki moved into the HR sector focusing on recruitment and employment policies. Nikki then used her transferable skills to enter the Welfare to Work sector and managed employment focused contracts for people with learning and physical disabilities, ex-offenders and people with history of substance misuse. Working with various organisations, job centres and community hubs Nikki offered advice and guidance, CV and interview technique workshops and brokered training and employment opportunities and on going support to both service user and employer ensuring sustained employment. Nikki is passionate about supporting employment opportunities within the criminal justice sector and hopes one day cbeebies Mr Tumble will accept her marriage proposal to the delight of her son.
Mark Harvey
No Offence! Associate Photographer
Mark Harvey is a freelance professional photographer with over 20 years experience. Trading as iD8 Photography, Mark provides businesses, charities and Government organisations with high quality photography. Clients include Sheffield Hallam University, Citizenship Foundation, SOVA, Sheffield City Council, Unite the Union, Crown Prosecution Service, Howells Solicitors, Howard League, Serco and many more.
Mark has specialised in capturing images of public services at work, including work for the Home Office, the National Offending Management Service, Skills for Justice, South Yorkshire Police and Social Services. He has a specific interest in illustrating work in areas of deprivation with a strong portfolio of images and issues relating to the rehabilitation of offenders and the effects of poverty on different age groups and communities. Mark has established tried and tested ways of working sensitively with vulnerable individuals and security issues that allows him to access hard to reach places and people.
iD8 Photography has a comprehensive archive of 3000 plus stock images - iD8 Photography
Chair of the Advisory Board
Jo Langdale Chartered FCIPD, FInstLM
Jo is founding Director, Consultant & Coach at Afon Aur Ltd with over 36 years’ experience in HR and the Criminal Justice Sector (CJS), having started her career in Prison Service HR. She is a Director of Islington Chamber of Commerce and an Associate at Rod Jarman Associates Ltd.
Jo is an expert on HR (from pre entry to exiting, including learning & development as trainer, coach & mentor); Equality & Diversity; Community & Intelligence-led Policing, Organization Development; Community Engagement & Safety.
Some highlights from her varied career:
- Experience of working in - and in Partnership with – the broader CJS, including on Reform and HR in Prison Service; National Probation Directorate; and Policing.
- Strategic Review of policies & delivery, including Parole System Review England & Wales informed by extensive visits in US & UK; Value for Money (VFM); Robbery as Home Office lead with Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (PMDU); Street Crime Initiative and Public Sector Targets (Home Office lead with PMDU); and the Haringey Strategic Partnership, while on secondment to Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) as a member of the Haringey Strategic Command Team, with lead responsibility for Strategic Partnership, Community Engagement and Communications.
- UK HR lead in developing terms & conditions for EUROPOL and in transforming National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) to a Statutory Authority (first in UK), working closely with National Crime Squad (NCS);
- UK Community Engagement lead for Robbery & Street Crime Initiative.
- Quality Management & Strategic Outsourcing, including as Head Market Testing/VFM MPS; Home Office HR lead for first major Outsourcing Programme for IT & Accommodation; Police Reform.
- UK lead for Neighbourhood Policing policy in England & Wales and for Community Policing in the EU.
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); she is CSR Champion for Islington Chamber of Commerce.
- Advisory Board Member at No Offence!
Jo is passionate about equality & diversity and in supporting community engagement, especially between young people and the CJS. She loves networking and travelling in Europe. She is a Fellow of the RSPB and has been a member of Middlesex County Cricket Club since the inspirational leader & strategist Mike Brearley was team captain
Find out more here: Afon Aur
Advisory Board
Geoff Baxter OBE
Specialist focus: Young People
Geoff is the Chief Executive of the Living Well Trust, a charity based in Cumbria. The organisation accept, support and empower vulnerable young people by delivering outreach, mentoring, education and training programmes throughout the UK.
Geoff has a long track record in working with young people, especially in supporting young offenders. In 2000 he founded a creative arts project called Locdown. Twelve years on, this multi-award winning programme works with Youth Offending Teams, young people in custody and young people at risk of exclusion, helping them to reflect on their past and providing them a platform for positive expression using the arts.
He was awarded an OBE for services to youth justice in 2011 and sits on a number of cross-party groups on justice issues.He is also a trustee of CDF - the Community Development Foundation.
Find out more here: Living Well Trust
Paul Senior
Specialist focus: International Criminal Justice
Professor Senior has been involved in professional education and research for over 30 years. His professional background is in the Probation Service where he worked heavily in the youth offending field, with courts, the legal professions and prison resettlement and with the voluntary and community sector. His current role is as Director of the Hallam Centre for Community Justice.
Between 1995 and 2001 he also worked as a freelance consultant working on many projects with the Home Office, Community Justice National Training Organisation, Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work (CCETSW), Skills for Justice, and other national organisations. Professor Senior is in a unique position of being both policy developer and involved in implementation of policy. Paul played a key role with the Probation Service and then the Youth Justice Board in developing professional training.
More recently Paul has worked on European projects and internationally in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. Paul has published widely on the Probation Service, resettlement, training and staff development, the Voluntary and Community Sector and on criminal justice policy making. He has published two books recently on Understanding Modernisation in Criminal Justice (with C Crowther-Dowey and M Long) 2007) and Moments in Probation (2008).
Paul co-edits an international journal launched in 2002 - the British Journal of Community Justice and runs the information exchange website – the Community Justice Portal (www.cjp.org.uk) as well as being an active contract researcher and consultant specialising in resettlement, community and restorative justice, reducing re-offending strategies, offender management, the role of the voluntary and community sector and community re-entry of offenders.
Find out more here: Hallam Centre for Community Justice
Dr James Treadwell
Specialist focus: Ex-service personnel
Dr James Treadwell (BA(Hons) PgDip/MA, DipPS, PhD) is Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Birmingham. He holds undergraduate degrees in Criminal Justice and Community Justice, a Postgraduate Diploma and MA and a PhD in Criminology. James research interests broadly span all aspects of crime and criminal conduct. He was involved as academic consultant to the Howard League during their inquiry into ex-military service personnel in prison, and has published in leading national and international academic journals including Criminology and Criminal Justice: An International journal, The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, and the British Journal of Criminology. He is also author of best selling textbook 'Criminology' (2006, Sage) He is a member of the editorial board of the Howard Journal of Criminal Justice and the Journal of Criminal Psychology. He is an experienced media commentator and has provided comment on a number of media outlets including national news and current affairs programmes for the BBC, ITV and Sky on a range of crime related issues including the issue of ex-military personnel in prison.
Find out more here: James
Tony C Smikle MA
Specialist focus: Police and Local Authority
Since 1982 Tony has worked in a range of public sector organisations:
Specifically in front line operational and senior management within policing, police training, the fire service and local councils specialising in leadership and diversity.
He has developed a profound understanding of the impact of organisational culture and informal procedures. He currently works as a leadership tutor and consultant.
Tony has undertaken equality strategic impact assessments for a number of public bodies as well as designing bespoke training programmes for Bournemouth Borough Council and the National Policing Improvement Agency.
Tony is a qualified internal auditor (ISO 9001) and an EFQM (European Foundation Quality Manager) assessor.
Awards: In April 2008 Tony was presented by the Police Diversity Trainers Network (PDTN) diversity award for “excellence in diversity delivery” 2009 NBPA policing excellence award.
Tony is the current elected Chair of the PDTN, former Vice President of the National Black Police Association and advisor to ‘Mothers Against Guns’.
Tony has a Master of Arts from Coventry University in ‘community cohesion management’.
Find out more here: PDTN
Sonia Crozier
Specialist focus: Probation
Sonia was appointed as Deputy Chief Executive and Service Director of London Probation Trust in November 2011.
Sonia began working as a probation officer in London in 1988 and has since gained extensive experience throughout the service.
From 2006 – 2008 she held a senior post at the Home Office and Ministry of Justice with a brief of improving the performance of probation areas throughout England and Wales. In 2008 Sonia was appointed as Chief Executive of Surrey & Sussex Probation Trust and was involved in a ground breaking scheme in providing probation officers with enhanced freedoms to determine about how they work with offenders. The lessons learnt on the project have now been applied to inform the revised Professional Standards.
Sonia’s duties in London involve the delivery of the annual business plan, representing LPT on a range of strategic partnership groups.
Find out more here: London Probation Trust
Joe Kuipers
Specialist focus: Probation
Joe has an academic background in psychology and social work, applied in a variety of settings that include research, social care (adults and children) and the crime sector. He has worked both as a practitioner in probation and chief officer grade manager and in residential young persons' secure accommodation. His work has also included both the (now) Care Quality Commission and HMI Probation, leaving there as a senior manager to work for himself as an advisor to probation trusts, local authorities and central government. This included a spell advising the authorities in Singapore on young offender custodial care and training relevant staff and managers. Currently he is the Chair of the Avon and Somerset Probation Trust Board, and proud to be associated with such an exceptional leadership, management and staff group.
Find out more here: Avon & Somerset Probation Trust
Simon Lincoln
Specialist focus: Membership Development
Simon is an Employer Engagement specialist with a lifetime's experience. This followed education at Lancing College and a degree in Modern Studies at Bristol University. His career began with an intensive Sales Training appointment at Rank Xerox. His initial career spanning 15 years was as a Sales/Marketing Director in SME businesses, managing sales forces and selling across the board to companies large and small on an international basis.
From the age of 40, he has been a self-employed consultant. Initially this was as a trained Business Mentor within the Textile Industry covering companies large and small, supporting chief executives across a range of corporate functions. This work led to specialism in direct employer engagement contracts for the the TEC across the East Midlands and subsequently for the LSC across the Midlands and East of England and Home Counties. These contracts invariably contained a range of targeted outcomes, which were payment related and which were always achieved. For the last few years, these activities have been focused on OLASS and the CJS, with a focus not just on employers, but on training and development issues for offenders and tilting the balance in terms of sustained/sustainable employment.
Find out more here: Simon
Brendan Ross
Social Media Co-ordinator (Volunteer)
Specialist focus: Social Media
Brendan is a 34year old man, father of one, he has had many jobs with the longest being within the criminal justice system as an adviser, mentor and volunteer coordinator to ex-offenders, of which he has personal experience. He dislikes the label ex-offender and prefers to refer to people by their names. Brendan believes in the maturity of the individual to succeed and the ability of all individuals to overcome barriers. Professionally in the past few years he has supported 100's of recently released prisoners into training and employment. Brendan currently works as the Resource Development and Support Worker for Foundation Training Company and as the Social Media Co-ordinator Volunteer for No Offence!
Find out more here: FTC
Claire Smith
Specialist focus: Health
Over the past twenty eight years Claire has worked in many government organisations: in front line operational and senior management roles including HM Prison Service, the NHS and the Fire and Rescue Services. Consequently she has built up a deep understanding and insight into the work and associated pressures that come as part of such jobs. Over this time she has been a prison governor, a general nurse and a business consultant working on strategic mental health and prison health projects for the NHS. Working as a coach enables her to carry on providing focused practical solutions with professional, caring and supportive services to people who need to build on their strengths in a helpful and positive environment.
Find out more here: Claire
Sian West
Specialist focus:Restorative Justice
Sian is a freelance consultant as well as an aspiring music coach, based in north-west Kent. Her consultancy work focuses on advising on and managing projects generally around reducing reoffending or restorative justice. She is also a trustee of Forgiveness Ministries, (www.forgivenessministries.org) (the charity founded by Ray and Vi Donovan), Chair of Kentish Opera, and is involved in several other organisations on a voluntary basis.
After a career in the Prison Service which spanned almost 32 years, where she ultimately became Governor of HMP Cookham Wood, HMP High Down and HMP Cardiff (but not simultaneously!), Sian became Director of “Why me?” (www.why-me.org) in early 2010, and although she has moved on from that full-time role, she continues to be involved in Why me’s RJ proposals and projects. Why me? is a charity campaigning on behalf of victims of crime for UK-wide access to, and opportunity for, Restorative Justice.
Sian’s academic qualifications include a Masters in Applied Criminology and Management (Prison Studies), and a post-grad Personnel Diploma.
Find out more here: Sian
Ian Glennie
Specialist focus: Marketing and Communications
Ian is Managing Director of the Glennie Communications Group. He has worked in senior marketing and communications roles for national organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. He set up his own consultancy in 1993 and helps clients reach their full potential by enabling them to inspire their customers, staff and other stakeholders. He has specialised in Criminal Justice work for over a decade, working with Probation Trusts, Police and a range of voluntary sector organisations. Ian is passionate about Criminal Justice because: “... it is ultimately not about crime and criminals but about freedom: helping people, whether victims, perpetrators or onlookers, to build positive lives free from fear, harm and shame.” He has won numerous national and international awards during his career, including the Attorney General’s Award for ‘Excellence in Communication’ for his work on the prevention of domestic abuse.
His film project ‘Leaving’ won Best Short Film at the London International Film Festival and was screened on ITV. A Cambridge graduate, he studied Geography and Social Anthropology and specialised in Cultural Communication. Ian’s aim in being part of the No Offence! Advisory Board is to help people and organisations communicate and work together in ever more effective ways.
Find out more here: www.glennie.com
Neil Ronan
Specialist focus: Law
Neil is a barrister and a forensic scientist with a keen interest in sentencing guidelines and policy.
For thirteen years Neil has worked as a forensic scientist and expert witness on cases of the utmost gravity. His forensic practice has encompassed matters ranging from summary only offences to indictable only; such as murder and rape.
It is this experience that led him to pursue his studies as a lawyer as he ultimately wishes to be more involved in the outcome of the criminal justice system.
Neil was called to the bar as a Blackstone exhibitionist scholar of the Honourable Society of Middle Temple in 2012; having completed his legal studies at the College of Law, Chester, and Manchester Met University.
Consequentially he now divides his practice between university lecturing in law, forensic investigations for the police and county court advocacy. He wishes to obtain pupillage and pursue a practice at the criminal bar.
Bernie Mayall FCMI
Specialist focus: Prisons
Bernie is currently Deputy Director Offender Health with Integrated Care 24 (formerly South East Health Ltd), and Managing Director of my her consultancy company, Mayall Management Ltd. After doing a few different things when she was young – busking in London, teaching music in Paris, running a charity shop, picking mushrooms - Bernie trained as a registered nurse in the 80s working first for the NHS, then Social Services, and after taking some time out to re-focus, write poetry, paint, play piano and banjo and generally create stuff, she moved into service and business development in public, private and third sector organisations a few years ago. Bernie has considerable experience successfully developing complex services, businesses and strategies across the sectors, mostly around learning disability and mental health, and fell into working in prisons almost by accident!
Genuinely passionate about communication and management, sincerely motivated by a need to achieve and a drive to improve, dedicated to fun. Simply, Bernie enjoys what she does and it seems to work.
Find out more here: Bernie
Patron
Sharon Grenham-Toze
Sharon qualified as a solicitor before ordination. She has been a prison chaplain since 2004, and is currently the Co-ordinating Chaplain at HMP Bedford. Sharon has been scriptwriting and broadcasting for BBC Radio 2 since 2004 and on Radio 4 since 2005. She is a regular presenter of Radio 4's 'The Daily Service', as well as 'Prayer for the Day' , 'Sunday Worship' and has also appeared on 'Beyond Belief'. On Radio 2 Sharon is best known for her regular appearances on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, presenting 'Pause for Thought'.
Find out more here: Sharon
Ambassadors
Lord Dholakia PC OBE DL
Navnit Dholakia was appointed Baron Dholakia of Waltham Brooks and introduced to the House of Lords on 29 October 1997. Lord Dholakia was appointed as Deputy Lieutenant for the County of West Sussex in June 1999. He is the President of Nacro , the crime reduction charity. He is a Vice President of the Mental Health Foundation, Vice Chairman of the Policy Research Institute on Aging and Ethnicity. He serves on the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.
Lord Dholakia is a Patron of many charitable organisations including the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester and the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan the iIndian Cultural Centre in Kensington.Lord Dholakia has held appointments with the Commission for Racial Equality and the Police Complaints Authority. He has served on the Council of Save the Children Fund and the Howard League of Penal Reform. He continues to serve on the Editorial Board of the Howard Journal.
Lord Dholakia was a member of the Ethnic Minority Advisory Committee of the Judicial Studies Board and served on Lord Carlisle’s Committee on Parole Systems Review. He served as a Magistrate and also as a member of the Board of Visitors for HM Prison Lewes. He was elected President of the Liberal Democrats from 2000-2004. He was appointed Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords in December 2004.Lord Dholakia has won a number of prominent awards including “Asian of the Year” in November 2000. He was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award by the Government of India in January 2003. In 2008 he was awarded the Melvin Jones Fellowship by Lions Clubs International Foundation. Lord Dholakia was awarded an Hon. Doctor of Laws Degree by the University of Hertfordhire in 2009, and an Honourary Doctorate from the University of York and from the University of East London in 2010.Lord Dholakia was appointed to the Privy Council in 2011
Find out more here: Lord Dholakia
Pastor Nims Obunge
The influence of Pastor Nims Obunge knows no bounds. He is CEO of the Peace Alliance, a national crime reduction charity. This highly regarded leader is a regular visitor to 10 Downing Street, City Hall and other corridors of power to give advice on young people, youth crime and community safety issues. He serves on the National Crack Advisory Board, the Executive Board of the Crime Reduction Partnership and the London Crimestoppers Advisory Board. He is also a member of the Metropolitan Police Association scrutiny panel on Stop & Search. In February 2007, he played a key role in galvanising the church community to march against gun crime through South London after the fatal killings of five people and was the only black church leader to attend the recent emergency summit held at 10 Downing Street about gun crime.
Find out more here: Nims
Lord David Ramsbotham
David Ramsbotham retired from the Regular Army in 1993, in the rank of General, he was appointed HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales in 1993, from which he retired in 2001. During that time he visited and/or inspected every prison in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as others in Australia, America, Canada, Germany, the Caribbean Overseas Territories and Scotland. David was appointed an independent crossbench member of the House of Lords in 2005, where he concentrates on penal reform and defence matters.
Find out more here: Lord Ramsbotham
David Akinsanya
David is a freelance journalist and television producer. He has worked in social/ current affairs for 23 years mainly working for The BBC, Channel 4 and Sky News. David is a campaigner for looked after children and ex-offenders and is often asked to talk about related issues. He addresses conferences, trains social workers and is a committed mentor to scores of young people. He served in the board of the Princes Trust for 10 years, ran a hostel for 15 and lives on a boat in London.
Frances Flaxington
Frances worked for different Probation services for 15 years specialising in work with sex offenders and becoming an Assistant Chief in Greater Manchester. She then was seconded to HM Inspectorate of Probation becoming the Deputy Chief: joint inspections included resettlement, children's safeguards and race equality. Frances then moved to lead Victims Policy in the Home Office. Other senior civil service roles in the Ministry of Justice included leading policy work on reducing re-offending and the contribution of the voluntary sector.
Her most recent MoJ role included leading the Government's strategy to divert women from custody and crime through working with Probation and the voluntary sector to provide one stop shops in the community as part of community sentences. Frances now works for Catch22 leading work on offender rehabilitation in the community.
Find out more here: Catch 22
James Timpson OBE
James is Chief Executive of Timpson, a family retail business based in Manchester. Through 700 shops across the UK and Ireland Timpson is the largest shoe repairer, key cutter, engraver and watch repairer. James and his father John have created a unique business culture that is based on recruiting personalities and giving them complete authority to run their shops however they want.
Timpson’s maverick approach to recruitment has also enabled them to successfully forge relationships with prisons across the UK, working closely together to identify ‘personalities’ within the system. Training is provided to those selected with the view that upon release they may secure employment with the Company. Employees joining the Company via this avenue are part of the ‘Timpson Foundation’, which is an internal initiative offering help and support to the individuals concerned.
Find out more here: Timpson
Rob Owen
Rob Owen is Chief Executive of St Giles Trust, a multi award winning charity that helps break the cycle of re-offending. The cornerstone of St Giles services is their innovative use of trained ex-offenders who use their first hand experiences to provide services to others. Key services for St Giles revolve around housing and employment, providing intensive support to people leaving prison, work with gang members and work with families and children. They also work with disadvantaged people in the community.
St Giles Trust was voted Britain’s Most Innovative Charity, as well as being a Charity of the Year award winner, a Sunday Times top five Best 100 Companies to work for winner and excitingly one of the first organisations to deliver the world’s first ‘Social Impact Bond’.
Previously Rob was an Investment Banker working in London and Tokyo. He has led multiple polar and high altitude expeditions raising money for charity, as well as completing the Marathon Des Sables and infamous Devizes to Westminster kayak race. He is a published author on the subject of sports sponsorship.
Find out more here: St Giles Trust
Frans Douw
Frans is the General Director of four penitentiary institutes in the North of Holland. Frans also has the portfolio of "reintegration" within the system. Starting 34 years ago, Frans worked as an attendant for criminal youth and for ten years as head of a department in the Pretrial assessment clinic, Pieter Baan Centrum. Frans became a prison governor in Hoorn in 1988 and has worked a few years at the Ministry of Justice and implemented a national programme for the detention data and observation reports for all Dutch prison staff. He became Governor in Amsterdam and was Director of the Psychiatric Treatment Unit of the Dutch Prison System. For about ten years he was a part-time consultant for the Global Initiative on Psychiatry and did projects on prison mental health and forensic psychiatry in St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Georgia, Lithuania, Curacao and Bonaire. Frans visited two No Offence! conferences and took the initiative to start a similar community in Holland, starting with a conference in November. He hopes to cooperate with No Offence! in the further development of this project.
Frans is happily married with Nel since 1980 and has a daughter Linda, 29, working as a brain researcher at Harvard and MIT in Boston and a son, Simon, 27, who is an independent entrepreneur in the field of training/coaching and crowd funding.
Find out more here: Frans
John Biggin
John commenced working for Serco Home Affairs in Sept 2005 transferring from Securicor, where he was the Director responsible for managing all of the Courts in and around London and the M25. Prior to this spent 16 years in the public Sector Prison Service finishing his time as the Contract Manager for the London Metropolitan Court Escorting Contract.
On transferring into Serco spent some time in HMP Dovegate before moving to HMP Lowdham Grange as Deputy Director before taking up the role of Contract Director in Sept 2007. Whilst at Lowdham Grange led the prison to Level 4 High Performing Prison status and introduced a number of innovations around in-cell telephony, education and resettlement initiatives.
Currently in charge at HMP & YOI Doncaster and enjoying the challenge of getting into the issues regarding performance improvement, driving through change and (importantly for him) leading staff. John’s ‘can-do’ attitude, enthusiasm and approachability have made him a dynamic leader that staff cannot help but follow. Just 18 months after taking over as Contract Director, John has transformed HMP & YOI Doncaster into an exemplary prison.
John was voted 2010 Guardian Newspapers Public Servant Of The Year.
Find out more here: HMP & YOI Doncaster
Steve Lawrence RSA Dip MIVA MREC AIfL
Steve has been working in Training and Development for 30 years and sits as a Director on Four Companies AQT Limited, London Working Limited, AQT London Limited and EEVT Limited.
As Business Development Director he currently sends out a weekly bids and Contracts information sheet and Newsletter to some 2,500 plus organisations. In the past Steve has worked on Projects via bids won with St Giles Trust, London Probation via Computer Gym UK Limited and worked on NIACE contracts with long-term offenders on release in the East of England. Steve is very committed to helping No Offence. “When I was a young man, it could have gone either way, I know that support is very important to help others”
Steve also supports PLIAS Resettlement which is a registered Charity and not-for-profit organisation that supports the reintegration of ex-offenders back into the community. We aim to reduce the risk of re-offending by providing education and training, employment information and advice, housing advice and guidance and mentoring. As part of our crime prevention strategy, they frequently run a number of crime awareness workshops including issues such as crime prevention, gun and knife crime, hate crime and e-safety.
In his spare time he enjoys DJ work playing Northern Soul and House Music as a hobby and relaxation along with collecting Danish Ceramics. He lives with Lisa his lifelong partner in Clacton on Sea Essex.
Find out more here: AQT
Paul Jenkins OBE
Paul is Chief Executive of Rethink Mental Illness, the leading national mental health membership charity, working to help everyone affected by severe mental illness recover a better quality of life.
We aim to make a practical and positive difference by providing hope and empowerment through effective services and support to all those who need us. We campaign for better services and are partners in “Time to Change” the national programme to challenge stigma and discrimination in the area of mental health.
Paul, born in 1963, was previously Director of Service Development for NHS Direct. He has previously been involved in the implementation of a number of other major national government initiatives including the Next Steps Programme and the 1993 Community Care Reforms. He has an MBA from Manchester Business School.
He was awarded an OBE in 2002 for his role in setting up NHS Direct.
He is a member of the Carers’ Standing Commission.
Paul is married with two children and lives in Leeds. He is a passionate supporter of the Welsh Rugby Team.
Find out more here: Rethink
Charlie Ryder
Charlie is a Director, Producer, Writer, Dancer, Songwriter, Filmmaker, Puppeteer and Artist. Charlie is also an ex-political prisoner who served 8 months in prison in 1995 for his part in a violent protest against the BNP headquarters in Welling in 1993.
In 2007 Charlie turned his experience into a one-man play using puppets, masks, physical theatre, dance and silence. The play’s aim was to question people’s perceptions of prison and prisoners. Charlie has since developed this into a feature film using puppets, masks, dance, poetry and visual art to share his story.
In June 2008 Charlie got a job with Anne Peaker Centre, which promoted and supported the use of arts in prisons in the UK. As part of his role he edited an arts magazine for prisoners and ex-prisoners called ‘The A Word’. The magazine covered the themes of forgiveness, hope, happiness and learning. In Feb 2009 the magazine was runner up for a Prison Action Net Award for excellence in work to strengthen positive identity and belonging in Prisoners and ex-prisoners.
Charlie currently works part-time as an Outreach Worker at HMP Wormwood Scrubs Community Chaplaincy providing mentors to support prisoners on their release from prison.
Find out more here: Charlie
Russell Webster
Russell trained as a probation officer until a year working in the States sent him in new directions. He has worked full time as an independent consultant, researcher, writer and trainer specialising in the fields of drugs and crime since 1996. He has particular expertise around young people, offender health, social networking/digital engagement and payment by results. He is a regular blogger on these issues.
He is the author or co-author of over 30 national publications on issues relating to drugs, alcohol and offending. He is also a Health Education Authority certified trainer. As an independent consultant and trainer, Russell seeks to keep at the forefront of policy and practice development while maintaining hands-on experience of work with the local voluntary sector. He balances a portfolio that includes international research studies; national policy advice and needs assessment and evaluation work with community organisations. Russell continues to specialise in multi-agency partnership work and has developed his own partnerships with several organisations including the Institute for Criminal Policy Research at Birkbeck College London, Red Kite Learning and No Offence.
Find out more here: Russell
John Hoskison
John was a top professional golfer until he took a risk one night and accepted a drink after a golf match. On his journey home he hit and killed a cyclist. In the most incredible way he was forgiven by the widow, who even asked for leniency to be shown at his sentencing trial. He received a three year sentence.
Spending time in HMP Brixton, Wandsworth and Coldingley he came to understand the prison system and the effects a sentence can have on a prisoner. He wrote a book about his experiences called ‘Inside – One Man’s Experience of Prison’.The highly acclaimed book led to him speaking on the Judicial Studies Board to our top judges, and at many conferences discussing how prisons can be improved.
Over the last ten years he has spoken at over 200 schools to over 100,000 pupils about the danger of taking unnecessary risks.He has recently written a bestselling novel about prison called Name and Number.
Find out more here: John
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