​Positive evaluation for ground-breaking women offender scheme

A service matching female offenders with mentors to help them back into the community and reduce reoffending has been praised for its positive impact.

An independent evaluation of the Shine women’s mentoring service run by Sacro has shown participants make progress towards a long-term reduction in reoffending.

Shine is a public social partnership, delivered by Sacro in partnership with seven other voluntary sector organisations and supported by the Scottish Prison Service, Social Work Scotland and Scotland’s eight community justice authorities.

The evaluation was carried out over six months by Ipsos Mori.

Among its key findings were that mentees who took part were overwhelmingly positive about their mentors and the impact that the service had on their lives.

Evidence showed 59% of all mentees made progress on at least one of their personal outcomes and 39% made progress on three or more outcomes.

There is a real strength in the public and voluntary sectors working together

Among those who engaged with the programme for five months or longer, 78% made progress on at least one set outcome, 65% made progress on three or more outcomes and 53% made progress on five or more outcomes.

Commenting on the evaluation, Tom Halpin, chief executive of Sacro, said: “There is a real strength in the public and voluntary sectors working together to make the best use of available resources, by delivering services through Public Social Partnerships.

“The Shine Women’s Mentoring Service is fundamentally meeting the needs of women who, although vulnerable, recognise the need for change in their lives.

He added: “The diversity of Shine’s approach to the mentoring relationship, matches solutions to the often complex needs that many women struggle with and recognises that building an intensive one-to-one relationship of trust with the women shows early promising results.”