For over 200 years Catch22 has designed and delivered services that build resilience and aspiration in people and communities. Our approach is based on the 3Ps. We believe people can thrive when they have: good people, a purpose, and a good place to live.
- People: Our experience teaches us time and time again that what makes a difference in people’s lives are strong and meaningful relationships with people who care. Whatever their needs, we surround our service users with a positive network of good people.
- Place: If a person has a good place to live, a community where they feel safe and at home, they can properly focus on making changes in the rest of their lives. This is also about encouraging and enabling communities to be more active and engaged: a vital first step in creating a thriving and prosperous society.
- Purpose: Having something meaningful to do, and the achievement, value and opportunity that comes with purposeful activity, is essential for people trying to build better lives. That could be a job, an apprenticeship, education, training, or even a social action project that contributes positively to their communities.
Catch22 delivers offender management, rehabilitation, resettlement and gangs work in prisons and in the community. We also run several successful victims services, providing emotional and practical support to victims of crime.
Our impact
In 2022-2023, we worked with:
- 49,397 service users in total, including
- 22,280 victims, and
- 20,156 individuals in custody.
Catch22 Minutes
In the Catch22Minutes podcast, we delve into some of today’s major social challenges. We speak to frontline experts, industry leaders and young people, in pursuit of ideas for reforming public services. The second season of the Catch22Minutes podcast explores issues faced by the UK’s justice sector. From developing restorative justice to reducing the impact of court delays, this series focuses on solutions which could impact every aspect of the criminal justice system.
Commissioned rehabilitative services
Catch22’s rehabilitative services help individuals through their transition back into the community, supporting them to lead a fulfilling life postsentence. Ultimately, our services aim to reduce reoffending rates by delivering holistic and individualised interventions that address and support the various and challenging aspects of community resettlement.
Personal Wellbeing
The Personal Wellbeing Commissioned Rehabilitative Service is delivered to people who are subject to probation supervision.
Services are available for males aged 18+ who are either on a community or suspended sentence order with a rehabilitation activity requirement, or on licence/post-sentence supervision following a prison sentence.
The Personal Wellbeing service is aimed at supporting effective community integration and wellbeing, and is located across London, Thames Valley, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and West Mercia.
The Personal Wellbeing Service is designed to holistically address a range of frequently occurring rehabilitative needs all linked to personal wellbeing, including:
- emotional wellbeing,
- family and significant others,
- lifestyle and associates, and
- social inclusion.
A range of approaches are used, including direct delivery of interventions in one-to-one or group sessions, support, advocacy, advice, and guidance. We work closely with Probation Service practitioners to ensure services are tailored appropriately to needs, with a focus on establishing high-quality relationships with service users.
Finance, Benefit and Debt
The Finance, Benefit and Debt Commissioned Rehabilitative Service is aimed at facilitating effective community integration for people on probation. Services are available for males aged 18+ who are either on a community or suspended sentence order with a rehabilitation activity requirement, or on licence/post-sentence supervision following a prison sentence.
The service offers holistic support to address frequently occurring rehabilitative needs relating to finance, benefit and debt. We offer end-to-end casework and in-house wrap-around support complemented with signposting to specialist agencies. A range of approaches are used, including direct delivery of interventions in one-to-one or group sessions which offer support, advocacy, advice and guidance. Interventions are tailored to reflect the complexity of an individual’s needs, but can include support with things like opening a bank account, accessing benefits, budgeting, and money management.
Catch22 works with a number of partners to add value to the service offering. These include Barclays – who provide access to their online digital support service ‘Digital Wings’, RIFT SE, Public Service Design Practice, and Big Life Solutions.
“I have had three sessions with [case worker] who has really inspired me to crack on with debt reduction. It has always seemed too daunting. But I now have a plan and whereas I am usually very head in the sand about debt (especially around Xmas), I now think twice about every financial outlay and am making better decisions.”
– Service user
Dependency and Recovery
The Dependency and Recovery Commissioned Rehabilitative Service has been designed to bridge the gap between probation and substance misuse services in the community. It acts to support thousands of males aged 18-25 who are either on a community or suspended sentence order with a rehabilitation activity requirement, or on licence/post-sentence supervision following a prison sentence.
Building on our experience of running successful substance misuse services, this service is partnered with the Forward Trust, as part of a suite of add-on services commissioned by Probation teams, to provide tailored, wrap-around support to their clients.
In 2023, 95% of service users either strongly agreed or agreed that the service has increased their understanding of addictive behaviours and triggers.
“You’ve helped me to realise that addiction is not a burden. It’s my life, and everyone reacts to things differently, and I have an addiction. My worker was more than okay: she was great. I thought I was too far gone, but I don’t feel like that anymore. These sessions have been a big help. I can now talk about my past and problems without breaking down and feeling overwhelmed.”
– Service user
Gangs and violence reduction services
Catch22’s Gangs and Violence Reduction Services work with service users both in prisons and in the community, to reduce the risk posed by gang-involved individuals and, ultimately, reduce the number of violent incidents.
In the community, we use an end-to-end approach to work with individuals, families, schools and custodial estates to reduce gang involvement and its effects. Our work targets and builds on service user strengths, to prevent them from becoming involved in gangs, and provides a range of interventions for gang-involved young people to support them to exit.
LGE
LGE is a service for young people, both male and female, aged 15-25 who are, or who have been, affected by violence.
Our model recognises the complexities of involvement in violence and the blurring of lines between victim and offender. LGE empowers young people to move away from these lifestyles by providing them with the support to exit, develop new skills, and reintegrate socially into the community.
The first pan-London service covering all 32 boroughs, LGE is designed to complement and enhance existing local services
across London and fill in the gaps in provision. The service offers holistic one-to-one mentoring and support over a minimum six-month intervention period. Support spans employment, education and training (EET) advice, health and wellbeing, family, housing advice, and advocacy and support for child sexual exploitation (CSE) and harmful sexual behaviour (HSB).
In 2022-23, participants of LGE on average showed a:
- 95% engagement rate,
- 95% positive improvement between their initial vs final needs assessment,
- 85% increase in mental health and wellbeing, and
- 79% increase in positive use of time.
HMP Thameside Custodial Gangs service
HMP Thameside Custodial Gangs service provides support and interventions to men who are remanded or convicted and have been identified to be gang-affiliated. Working alongside the Offender Management Unit (OMU), support includes identification and screening, one-to-one interventions, conflict resolution, and mediation plus interventions such as the Rehabilitation Offering Another Direction (R.O.A.D) programme.
Initial engagement identifies any issues related to gang involvement and sets out the support available. Where issues are identified, ongoing support is provided to the service user to decrease the impact of gang association and violence within the prison. Interventions include both one-to-one work, as well as the R.O.A.D programme (a voluntary course which encourages participants to evaluate their past choices and address the consequences of their behaviour). The programme seeks to encourage participants to consider alternative pro-social life options and opportunities moving forward.
The team works closely with other agencies, both in and out of the prison, to ensure good quality sharing of relevant information to support the reduction of violence to and by people with convictions.
In 2022-23:
- 51 conflict resolutions were completed with a 92% positive outcome rate, and
- of those completing the R.O.A.D programme, there was a 78% average positive attitudinal shift.
“The prison has an effective gangs’ team which works closely with the police and community workers to help identify and separate the most prominent gang nominals.”
– IMB report, 2023
Wolverhampton Violence Reduction Service
The Wolverhampton Violence Reduction team provide preventative and targeted interventions for gang-affected people in prison in Wolverhampton.
Our service is delivered by Gang Practitioners with expertise and knowledge of gangs and their context both in the community and inside prison. Gang Practitioners investigate and identify the specific nature and impact of gang involvement within the establishment and design targeted interventions informed by local context.
The team also acts as a point of contact within the prison: ensuring ongoing intelligence gathering and sharing arrangements are in place with prison teams and with services in the community.
The service aims:
- to reduce the risk posed by gang affiliated individuals, both in their involvement in violent incidents within the custodial estate and in the community post-release,
- to support the establishment to understand complex behaviour and upskill staff knowledge of community gang issues and how these translate into custodial setting, and
- to increase confidence in managing challenging prisoners.
In 2022-23, there was a:
- 96% engagement rate for Complex Case Management sessions, and
- 82% average positive attitudinal shift for those completing the R.O.A.D. (Rehabilitation Offering Another Direction) programme.
Gang awareness training
At Catch22, we understand the challenges faced by gang-involved young people and their families. Our extensive experience has afforded us with the expertise to support and develop professionals to effectively engage this cohort, maximising outcomes achieved. Using this experience, we have developed two full-day CPD-certified training sessions for professionals: Gang Awareness training and Understanding Violence in Young People training.
Our training can be tailored according to organisational need, and new material is being continually created to meet service and societal needs.
Key elements of our Gang Awareness training modules include:
- increasing understanding of gang culture, serious youth violence, and associated behaviours,
- a look at the victim/offender overlap,
- understanding how choice and opportunity inform intervention,
- child criminal exploitation and county lines awareness,
- interactive case studies to help take practitioners through the various stages of grooming and exploitation,
- developing skills to recognise key warning signs,
- strategies to successfully engage service users, and
- strategies to safeguard and manage associated risk.
On average, practitioners’ knowledge on youth violence, child criminal exploitation (CCE) and the ‘Grooming Line’ improved 59%. Overall, 97% of practitioners rated the Gang Awareness training as ‘Excellent’ or ‘Very Good’.
“The facts and figures were somewhat alarming, as was the reasoning. This is training that anyone working with young people needs to take part and access.”
– Gang Awareness training attendee
Prison services
Catch22 builds high-quality relationships alongside case management in prisons to provide the long-term support needed for positive outcomes and to reduce reoffending.
Our approach to supporting those on custodial sentences focuses on assessing risks and needs to create a personalised action plan, building trusting relationships with service users, and working closely with the Probation Service, Police and other criminal justice and rehabilitation agencies.
HMP Thameside Offender Management Unit
Our Offender Management Unit (OMU) at HMP Thameside has been operational since 2012 and is the only one in the UK to be delivered by a third sector organisation.
“This was the best provision I had seen during the last year and, because the prison had outsourced offender management work to Catch 22, staff were not cross deployed to other duties as we so often see in jails.”
– Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
We take a relational approach to our work, focusing on building rapport and meaningful relationships with our service users. All prisoners are seen within their first 72 hours of arriving into custody and their needs are assessed to see how each individual can be supported. Convicted men are allocated a Case Manager who provides end-to-end management and support from point of sentence or recall to their transition back into community life, with a focus on identifying prisoners’ criminogenic needs and addressing the root causes of offending.
Support includes sentence planning and risk assessment, one-to-one offending behaviour work and in-cell packs, as well as emotional support. For those men who are subject to licence recall, we support them through the parole process, working alongside the Community Offender Manager to contribute to reports and risk management plans. In addition, we manage Home Detention Curfew (HDC) applications, transfers, and remand prisoner advice.
“The offender management unit from Catch22 continues to work tirelessly to manage and support the custodial sentence of prisoners at Thameside.”
– IMB report, 2023
HMP Wandsworth Foreign National Service
Approximately 50% of HMP Wandsworth’s population are foreign nationals. The service identifies all foreign national men at the point of arrival at HMP Wandsworth and offers each of them a bespoke induction. Service users are then delivered support in the form of either one-to-one engagement or group workshops, which aim to empower them with the practical skills needed to increase confidence and to motivate them in accessing purposeful activity.
A priority of the service is to identify those who are particularly vulnerable, and to encourage them to access an enhanced level of support within the establishment. The service hopes to create an increased sense of community within HMP Wandsworth and to reduce isolation and segregation within the foreign national population. Specific support can include immigration, deportation and repatriation support and guidance, legal aid, bail for immigration detainees and Big Word translation services, amongst others. Catch22 also employ those in custody as Foreign National Representatives and Mentors, which provides an opportunity for paid employment, a chance to learn new skills, and a great source of purpose.
100% of ‘Distance Travelled’ reviews in October – December 2023 showed a positive shift.
“Thank you, I was able to speak to my wife after four months. I am very grateful.”
– Service user
HMP Wandsworth Remand Life Skills pilot
The Remand Life Skills pilot provides the remand population at HMP Wandsworth with strategies and skills to help them deal with uncertain situations and develop a positive mindset. The course inspires learners to develop employment and life skills, such as communication and emotional regulation, which aids their resettlement into the community after prison.
“I can’t explain how great the course was. I found it very helpful and insightful – I learnt a lot about how to better myself mentally and build better relationships with people.”
– Service user
Initial one-to-one sessions include a conversation on how group sessions, topics, and resources will meet the respective learner’s needs, as well as undertaking a distance travelled self-assessment which enables Catch22 to measure how the learner currently perceives their ability to cope and engage. There are a total of seven Life Skills group sessions, which encourage conversations, reflections and sharing of experiences. These opportunities for guided learning and conversation alongside peers aim to support resilience and enable learners to cope more effectively with the uncertainty of their remand status. During the follow-up one-to-one session, we consolidate group sessions, provide practical advice and complete feedback and distance travelled surveys to identify any further support needs. Post-course, participants also receive in-cell journalling packs to encourage further reflection.
- 93% of participants evidenced a positive shift in their ‘Distance Travelled’ surveys.
- 100% of participants provided 100% positive feedback on the course.
“I called my family the other day and they said that, since the course, they found me more cheerful, happier, and more engaged with the conversations. It made me and them so happy.”
– Service user
Victim Services
Catch22 provides support to adults, children, and young people who have been impacted by crime and anti-social behaviour. Catch22’s free, independent, and confidential victim services are available to victims and witnesses regardless of how long ago the crime happened and whether it has been reported.
Hertfordshire Beacon Victim Care
Hertfordshire Beacon Victim Care supports victims and witnesses across Hertfordshire to cope and recover from the impact of crime, regardless of how long ago it happened or whether it was reported to the police.
Our team of dedicated and trained professionals support service users every step of the way, using person-centred and restorative approaches by putting the individual’s needs first. This is done by conducting a needs assessment which considers the impact and harm caused by the crime, including any physical, emotional, psychological or financial hardships. Our Support Workers then develop a package of support tailored to the individual’s needs.
Beacon Victim Care can offer the following support to help individuals cope and recover from their ordeal:
- practical support and information,
- crime prevention measures,
- someone to talk to in confidence,
- liaison with other organisations on behalf of victims,
- contact with other sources of help and access to specialist support, and
- restorative justice (a chance for the victim to communicate with the perpetrator, if appropriate).
Overall, 99% of victims were satisfied with the support received from Hertfordshire Beacon Victim Care.
Over £3million has been recovered by the service for victims of fraud.
Hertfordshire Beacon Family Hub
As well as our Beacon Victim Care service, Catch22 launched the Beacon Family Hub in August 2021 after identifying an urgent gap in support for families living in Hertfordshire where there is child-on-parent violence (CPV) occurring within the home.
The Family Hub uses a trauma-informed approach to support the family, providing tools and techniques to lower risk and prevent escalation, as well as repairing relationships between all family members. An assessment is carried out to assess the needs and then a support plan is tailored to each family.
We provide support through different methods to help meet the needs of all parties. This might mean a combination of face-to-face, telephone, email or text support. A few examples of the support given by our Beacon Support Workers include:
- emotional support,
- safety planning,
- anger management, and
- triggers and responses.
Our Beacon Support Workers also provide parenting group sessions following the non-violence resistance model. The course offers a series of tools and techniques to support parents and carers of children and young people who display challenging attitudes and behaviours.
Victim First
Victim First is a free, independent, and confidential service for victims and witnesses of crime across Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland. Our team recognises that everyone’s needs are different and that is why Victim First is designed to be tailored to the requirements of the victim or witness. Whether or not the crime has been reported, and regardless of when it happened, our team’s priority is to ensure that the victim is given the support to help them move forward.
The team is made up of experienced and professional caseworkers, assisted by dedicated and trained volunteers, who support victims in their journey of recovery. Victims of both recorded and self-reported crime are tracked at all points in their journey, and are given access to information, practical support, advice and, where appropriate, restorative justice services or referral to ‘cope and recover’ support services.
The Victim First team also works with specialist services across the region to ensure that support engages communities that find it harder to access services, providing translators and translated materials whenever necessary.
92% of service users were satisfied with the service received between October 2021 and September 2022.
“They offered me all the support that I needed, which I didn’t even know was out there”
– Service user
Greater Manchester Victims’ Services
Greater Manchester Victims’ Services (GMVS) provide a centre of excellence for victims, witnesses, and survivors. It offers a free, independent, and confidential service for individuals impacted by crime across Greater Manchester, regardless of how long ago it happened or whether it was reported to the police.
The team provides a victim-centred approach, tailoring its support around the victim’s needs and wishes by undertaking a thorough needs assessment and creating a support plan that is bespoke to each individual. We believe a multiagency approach is crucial in preventing repeat victimisation and allows us to share insights and learning with our partners, which is why the service works in close partnership with other organisations to get the best outcomes for victims. We understand how hard it can be for some individuals to come forward and access support, and so our approach is always non-judgemental.
Greater Manchester Victims’ Services focuses its activity on five priority areas:
- taking the service to the victim,
- stopping repeat victimisation,
- strengthening local partnerships,
- digital transformation, and
- service integration and communication.
Interventions Hub
The Interventions Hub provides person-centred, holistic interventions which are used across our Justice services. All of our interventions aim to be inclusive, compassionate and responsive to needs. We aim to reduce barriers to access and engagement, promote equality and diversity, and improve wellbeing outcomes for individuals and communities. This is always supported by our theoretical underpinning and training offers, in order to drive performance and delivery.
Our interventions offering is focused on positive psychological discourse to encourage wellbeing, self-actualisation, and feelings of growth which are key to rehabilitation. We deliver material using motivational interviewing techniques, and our content and delivery methods are solution-focused, strengths-based, and trauma-informed.
Through its Interventions team, Catch22 is supported by:
- Interventions Lead who oversees the interventions offer across services and creates innovative, engaging materials.
- Inclusion Lead who promotes and manages diversity and inclusion, alongside offering training, adaptations and guidance.
- Training Lead who fosters learning, growth, and consistency, whilst supporting staff confidence and fulfilment.
- Academic Partnerships Lead who builds our subject matter expertise, delivers research and gap analysis, and promotes student and volunteer engagements.
In 2023, the Interventions team:
- worked with 19 universities,
- hosted 16 students and volunteers,
- created 51 CRS interventions,
- produced 21 training resources, and
- published 8 reports.