Following the LibDem council motion in July 2010 about tackling re-offending, the borough wrote to the government in support of this policy.
Cllr Simon Werner, who moved the motion in July said, “It is good that the the council is now going a further step along this road by having ex-offenders as permanent contracted employees. The risk of them re-offending is low-less than 1 in 5. To keep the public confidence however it is vital that proper safeguards and supervision are put in place. When the employees undertake their tasks such as maintenance of our council’s parks, it is essential that they are discretely observed at all times. In this way there will be no criminal activity while the taxpayer is paying for them to be working . “
Helping break the cycle of re-offending