Scheme aims to deter offenders from life of crime

* North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones.

A pioneering scheme to divert low level offenders away from a life of crime is being launched in North Wales.

The idea has been championed by North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones who says it will cut reoffending rates as well as reducing police and court time.

It’s anticipated part of the Checkpoint programme will be piloted in a selected area of North Wales in the New Year with the aim of rolling it out across the region over the next 12 months.

The scheme, which has been developed by Cambridge University, has been successfully trialled in Durham.

Offenders are offered  the chance to avoid prosecution by seeking help from rehabilitation services in the community after signing a contract to say they will comply.

Each offender will be supervised by a skilled 'navigator' – many of whom have successfully completed rehabilitation programmes - the four-month period and they face prosecution if the contract is broken.

Durham’s Checkpoint programme has already won a national award from the Howard League for Penal Reform and has achieved impressive results in reducing reoffending.

Statistics from Durham showed only four per cent of those referred for support were re-convicted compared with 19 per cent who went down criminal justice routes.

It is argued that the Checkpoint approach improves life chances because people avoid getting a criminal record, which can affect employment and education opportunities.

Mr Jones, a former police inspector, says it may even save lives because criminalisation deters people from seeking help and encourages high risk behaviours.

With the estimated cost of imprisoning someone now at £65,000 and £40,000 for every year after that, Mr Jones also argues that public savings could be substantial.

Following a recent fact-finding visit to Durham, Mr Jones Jones said: “Checkpoint is aimed at people who have committed a lower level of offences and rather than taking them to court we can intervene and use skilled navigators to direct them to the appropriate services.

“This will address the underlying causes of their offending and aim to reduce the risk of them re-offending.

“People are often motivated to commit crime due to underlying issues in their lives – these could include drug or alcohol misuse, mental and physical health issues, housing or homelessness, or problems to do with money or relationships.

“Checkpoint offers eligible offenders a four-month long contract to engage as an alternative to prosecution.

“The contract offers interventions to address the underlying reasons why they committed the crime to prevent them from doing it again to somebody else.

“Serious offences such as rape, robbery or murder will not be eligible for Checkpoint. Neither will driving offences, cases of serious domestic abuse or serious hate crime.

“Checkpoint is not a soft option – and it will be harder to complete than all of the current out of court disposals currently available , for example, a caution, or a fixed penalty notice.

“If the subject successfully completes the contract and does not reoffend, no further action will be taken against them.

“If they reoffend or fail to complete the contract they will be prosecuted and we will inform the courts of the circumstances of their failure to complete the contract.”

In Durham they have 12 navigators who currently deal with 300 offenders who have given an undertaken to seek help from services for four months and in return they will avoid prosecution but if they breach that condition then they will go to court.

Durham Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner Ron Hogg, who invited Arfon Jones to come and see how the programme is working, said “Checkpoint demonstrates that traditional criminal justice sanctions are less effective in reducing reoffending than diversion schemes.

“Traditional criminal justice sanctions such as a caution or a fine do nothing to address the reasons why people offend and reduce reoffending.

“It’s also important to adopt this kind of strategy as we face financial cutbacks and have to look at different ways of operating – this will help us to cope.

“There’s scope for savings with regard to police, court, probation and prison time – any cost will be outweighed by the savings.

"Serious offenders who commit serious crimes will not be offered this and will still go to prison.

“Checkpoint is a massive step forward for policing and for this force in general.”

Oneplanet Adventure gets early Christmas present

Oneplanet Adventure has announced the purchase of the Visitor Centre at Coed Llandegla Forest from the Church Commissioners for England (CCE).

A statement from Oneplanet says: "The purchase and signing of a new lease for recreational use of the forest will ensure the future of the site as the ‘Gateway for adventure in North Wales’ for years to come.

"The team at Oneplanet Adventure would like to thank CCE and Tilhill for their assistance over the years and we very much look forward to continuing the partnership long into the future.

"We would also very much like to thank HSBC and Development Bank of Wales with assistance from Hillyer Mckeown and the Welsh Governments Accelerated Growth Program who have all played an important part in enabling us to make this happen.

"As passionate mountain bikers, everyone at Oneplanet Adventure very much look forward to sharing our exciting plans for the future with you all early in the new year."

Meet Llangollen's Youth Parliament member

* Youth Parliament member Talulah Thomas.

A student from Llangollen has been elected as a member of the Welsh Youth Parliament.

The parliament, which will meet frequently over the next two years, includes 60 young people aged 11-18 from diverse backgrounds across Wales.  

Representing Clwyd South will be Talulah Thomas, a year 13 student at Ysgol Morgan Llwyd who is hoping to go on to study history and politics at university.

Parliament members will choose the issues they wish to debate and raise awareness of them at national level.

They will also gather views from other young people across the country and work with those with the power to make change.

Talulah said: “During my time as YPM, I hope to work closely with our local AM Ken Skates and MP Susan Elan Jones over these next two years.  

“My key issues are mental health education in schools, promoting culture and the Welsh language and Welsh youth participation in politics.

“I wish to be a member of the Welsh Youth Parliament because the political future of Wales rests with our youth, and our nation's young people must be engaged to ensure progression.”

She added: “I would encourage discussions within schools by starting an all-inclusive committee that will highlight the issues that are important to young voters, as their views are most important to me.

“I hope that this will reflect politics as an essential element of everyday life and create a bridge between the voices of young people and the Senedd in order to negate the rhetoric that it is inaccessible and elitist.

“I would like to create a Welsh language podcast with young people that will discuss and debate issues such as mental health, Welsh independence and the voting age. By using a modern form, I hope to raise political issues in a relaxed and accessible way.

“By being a member of the Syr IfanC Board and acting as the ambassador of my area, I have confidently developed group discussion and debate skills about issues, as well as contributing to the community.

“I have no fear of voicing my opinion and I would be very excited to have the opportunity to act on behalf of young people to ensure that we have the representation that we deserve as the youth of Wales.” 

New waste and recycling scheme gets green light

Plans to change waste and recycling collections in Denbighshire have been given the go-ahead. 

The changes will include:

·         a new weekly collection for recyclables such as paper, glass, cans, and plastic

·         a new weekly collection for nappies and incontinence wear

·         a weekly collection for food waste

·         a new fortnightly collection for clothes and small electrical items

The aim is to encourage more recycling on top of the council’s current rates (64%) to meet the Welsh Government’s 70% target by 2025, with an expectancy that the target will rise to 80% in future.

The council says if residents use the recycling service correctly, it should only result in a minimal amount of residual waste being created. 

As a result, the council will be changing the collection of non-recyclable waste to every four weeks for the majority of households.

Residents will be issued with a  bigger black bin if they need one, but overall, households would have more capacity each week for managing their waste than they have with our current service. 

The new weekly recycling service (using a Trollibloc system) would provide more capacity for recycling when compared to the current fortnightly collection with the blue wheelie bin.  

Residents will be able to free up even more space in their black bin by using new kerbside recycling services for textiles, small electrical goods, batteries and where needed, nappies and incontinence waste.   

The Welsh Government has already committed £7.9 million towards the service. This funding would be used to develop the infrastructure necessary to enable the council to change the service. 

Welsh Government are supporting the changes as the proposed changes mean that the carbon footprint of the new service would be much less. We would be using less fuel, recycling more waste and producing higher quality recycling suitable for use in the UK manufacturing industry, avoiding, where possible, the use of virgin materials sourced from the Earth’s diminishing resources.

Councillor Brian Jones, Cabinet Lead Member for Highways, Planning and Sustainable Travel, said:  “This has been a big decision for the council and these proposals have been explored and considered at great length.

“Whilst we are delighted that the change has been approved, the hard work of preparing for the changes and working with communities begins today. We have taken on board the comments received as part of a consultation we arranged and we want to make the transition to the new service as seamless as possible.

“This proposed new way of working will certainly make the county more environmentally friendly, it will make residents consider what and how they recycle and will also save money through implementing a more efficient and effective service."

Over the coming months, the council will be launching an information campaign to keep residents informed of the changes and any impacts on them and their community. The new facilities that are needed to support the service should be in place early 2021, with the aim of the whole county being moved across to the new service by July 2021.

Further information will be included on www.denbighshire.gov.uk/recycling

* A llanblogger reader submitted a Freedom of Information request to the county council regarding its garden waste scheme, and says this showed it has derived the following income from the scheme:

2015/16 £408k

2016/17 £390k

2017/18. £434k

2018/19 £390k (year to date)

llanblogger takes a short break

llanblogger is taking a short pre-Christmas break but will be back before the big day.

Large audience enjoys town carol service

* The audience sings a carol during the service.

* Llangollen Silver Band provide accompaniment to the carols.

The Rev Phil Poole, to the right of the stage, led worship.

* Cor Canu Hardd take the Town Hall stage.

* Town Mayor, Cllr Jon Haddy, delivers a reading.

A large audience took part in the annual Llangollen Town Carol Service at the Town Hall yesterday (Sunday) evening.

Musical accompaniment, sung in English and Welsh, was provided by Llangollen Silver Band, which also performed a selection of numbers on their own including Winter from Vivaldi's the Four Seasons and Oh Holy Night.

The audience also appreciated the seasonal numbers provided by boys and girls of the local young people's choir, Cor Canu Hardd, conducted by Elen Mair Roberts. Immediately after leaving the stage to warm applause the choir had to dash off to its second appointment of the night, signing at the Eisteddfod Christmas Concert at the Pavilion.

Various readings from the Bible were delivered between the music by people including Town Mayor, Cllr Jon Haddy.

The service, which was organised by the Llangollen Churches Together organisation Cytun, was led by the Rev Phil Poole of Llangollen Methodist Church.

During a break in the service the winning exhibitors in the annual Christmas Tree Festival staged at the Methodist Church were announced. They were Best White Christmas: the Holy Cross Church; Best Traditional: Ysgol Bryn Collen.

Afternoon tea, prepared by volunteers, was served during the first hour of the event.

Inclusive dance competition to open near Llangollen

* Helen from Dolywern takes part in last year's Strictly Cymru final.

Wales’ first fully inclusive dance event, Strictly Cymru, is back for the second year running, with the first regional heats taking place near Llangollen this week.

Organised by the disability charity Leonard Cheshire, Strictly Cymru invites disabled dancers from across the country to take part and show off their talent.

The event is pan disability and aims to improve health, wellbeing and access to sport for disabled people across Wales.

First of the regional heats will be at Leonard Cheshire in Dolywern on Thursday and Friday, December 20 and 21.

This follows the success of last year’s competition, where participants reported significant improvements in their well-being as a result of taking part.

Helen from Dolywern, who had experienced extreme short-term memory loss and limited speech, now engages in conversation, has improved memory and an extended range of vocabulary. She came joint third in Strictly Cymru Grand Final last year.

Helen said ahead of the final last year: "It was a fun event to take part in. I’m amazed was in the final!"

Leonard Cheshire is inviting disabled people across the country to take part in the competition — from keen dancers to complete beginners.

Glyn Meredith, Leonard Cheshire’s Director of Operations in Wales, said: "Dancing improves people’s health, happiness and well-being, opening up opportunities that too often are not accessible for disabled people.

"Following enormous success last year, we can’t wait to see what this year’s Strictly Cymru has to offer.

"We know there is a huge wealth of talent among the community in Wales and this event is the perfect opportunity to bring people everyone together to show what they can do."

The event has been organised in partnership with Para Dance UK.

Patrick McGeough, Para Dance UK CEO, said: "We welcome the opportunity to partner with Leonard Cheshire on this amazing event, enabling the community of Wales to take part in dance, but also developing a legacy that can show and enable the community that everyone can be involved in dance whether that is for fun, creative or competitive reasons.

"We wish all the participants good luck and we look forward to meeting and inspiring everyone to get involved have fun and show that no matter what the ability that all of the community of Wales can dance!”

* For further details and to find out how to take part, please visit: www.leonardcheshire.org/strictlycymru