Decision details

The main national community initiative for PCOSOs is ‘Circles of Support of Accountability’. In discussions with the sector, it was identified that there was a lack of desire to deliver the circles model as the accreditation process was considered an unnecessary burden; use of volunteers was not ideal and the small number of interventions that could be delivered. In addition, previously the volunteer model was built on ex or current CJS professionals not strictly community volunteers as such.
Therefore, organisations (Back on Track and We Are Survivors) were identified with the skills and expertise to be able to work with this cohort and they were consulted on a potential model which has been co-designed to provide a more robust and holistic approach.

Greater Manchester has the highest proportion of PCOSOs in the community outside of London. There are over 3,500 PCOSOs in Greater Manchester, which amounts to approximately 75% of people who are being managed through GM MAPPAs. These numbers have increased year on year, particularly for sexual offending, which has seen a 20% increase since Covid-19. The GM SOMU team has expanded too but can still only operate to caseloads of over 100 people. PCOSOs are often excluded from other support and/or resettlement services and face significant additional barriers to accessing mental health provision and finding progression opportunities.

People convicted of sexual offences managed through Greater Manchester’s Multi Agency Public Protection Units are known to report disproportionately high rates of neurodiversity; high rates of childhood trauma, victimisation, and child sexual abuse; to typically be generalist offenders; and to be at enhanced risk of re-offending when subject to increased stress and social isolation.
The PhD candidate is sought to work under the supervision of Professors David Gadd and Emma Barret in the Department of Criminology. The candidate will also be advised and accountable to the project advisory group, comprising Mr Duncan Craig OBE (Honorary Research Fellow and CEO of We Are Survivors), Kath Self (Senior Policy & Partnership Officer, Greater Manchester Combined Authority), Dr Polly Turner, Clinical Senior Lecturer, Dr Neil Gredecki, Lecturer in Psychology and Mental Health and Siobhan Pollitt, Chief Executive, Back on Track.
It is a core requirement of the PhD that the candidate work alongside the funder, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, to develop an evaluation framework that will ultimately assess the effectiveness of a new model of intervention. The new intervention – delivered by Back on Track and We Are Survivors - seeks to ensure a subpopulation of sex offenders desist from offending by providing additional support to help those who are also victims to process their own trauma and by providing an intervention that enables the development of core life skills a more pro-social sense of self. All those subject to the intervention will also be under the supervision of Greater Manchester Probation Service.
The PhD is scheduled to start in March 2024, with fees and stipend funded for 3.5 years. The University reserves the right to defer the start date to September 2024.

The PhD candidate will be based in the Department of Criminology, in the School of Social Sciences. Fieldwork for the project is expected to conclude after 2.5 years of full-time study. An annual (pro-rata) Research Training Support budget of £1000 to cover fieldwork and dissemination costs will be made available to the candidate. The candidate will be expected to comply with the University of Manchester’s doctoral training requirements. The full range of training and support provided to PhD students in the Dept of Criminology, School of Social Sciences and North West ESRC Doctoral training Partnership will be made accessible to the successful candidate. This will include training in research ethics, data management and security, research methods, research leadership, dissemination and impact.

As lead commissioner, to award a grant to undertake a pilot sex offender programme with experienced providers We are Survivors and Back on Track. The evaluation from the pilot, led by a PhD graduate, will be used to commission a longer-term contract for a service in Greater Manchester.

The cost of the pilot programme is set out below:

Total for Year 1 to 3 for delivery

GMCA (51%) £219,354.06
HMPPS (49%) £210,751.94

Total cost £430,106

This will be given to the lead provider, Back on Track, who will divide between Back on Track and We are Survivors.
Costings for the PhD student

Total for Year 1 to 4 for evaluation (this is a 3.5 year evaluation)

Start date

March 2024 £97,874.00
September 2024 £100,337.00

The Greater Manchester Sex Offender Programme pilot project is developed as an alternative model to supporting people convicted of sexual offences (PCOSOs) in Greater Manchester.

This is to contribute to the prevention of sexual re-offending by PCOSOS, who are facing multiple disadvantages, by supporting individuals to process their own trauma and develop a more pro-social sense of self. The project is solely for people who have convictions for sexual offences (online and contact) and who are still under the supervision of a probation practitioner and police liaison officer.

Agencies involved:
• Greater Manchester Probation Service
• Greater Manchester Police - Sex Offender Management Unit
• Greater Manchester Combined Authority – Justice and Rehabilitation
• Back on Track (BoT)
• We Are Survivors
• Community Services: GMIRS, VCSE

A PhD candidate will provide essential evaluation information which will be used to inform future commissioning on a longer term basis. Focussing on an ‘Appraisal of the Value of Therapeutic Community Resettlement for People with Convictions for Sexual Offences in Greater Manchester’. The PhD It will be hosted in the Department of Criminology in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Manchester. The academic research question the studentship will address is:
What should be done to reduce the risks of reoffending among convicted sex offenders whose offending is foregrounded in multiple disadvantage, previous victimisation and/or substance use and poor mental health?

Agencies involved:
• Greater Manchester Probation Service
• University of Manchester
• Greater Manchester Police - Sex Offender Management Unit
• Greater Manchester Combined Authority – Justice and Rehabilitation
• Back on Track (BoT)
• We Are Survivors
• Community Services: GMIRS, VCSE