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Circles - More Information

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Related pages: Circles of Support and Accountability

The Home Office evaluated the Circles of Support and Accountability (Circles) pilot projects and there was local evaluation of the Thames Valley project.

The national support functions which had mainly been carried by Quakers were transferred to a new body called Circles UK in April 2008 which currently supports a number of Circles Projects across England and Wales, and applies national standards of service delivery to ensure consistency of provision.  

How a typical Circle works

Volunteers are recruited from the local community, including faith and community groups. They need to be responsible people with their feet on the ground. They are screened, trained and supported by the scheme. Typically, four or five volunteers form a Circle.

An offender is identified, preferably while still in prison but more usually on release into the community - a medium or high risk sex offender, with high levels of need and little or no support from family or friends. He becomes the ‘core member’ of the Circle.

When the Circle first meets, they make a commitment to openness within the Circle, confidentiality beyond it and consensus decision making. The core member promises to follow his release plan and that ‘there will be no more victims at my hands’. There is close contact between the Circle and police and probation. Circles do not replace their roles, but are a structured way for the community to take its share of responsibility.

The Circle meets weekly and a member will contact the core member most days. The contacts can be informal - going shopping, or just a phone call. Over time, the meetings become less frequent. Milestones such as birthdays are celebrated. If the Circle is concerned about the core member’s behaviour, they will challenge him and meet more intensively for a while. Circles know when to alert police or probation to a problem.

What you can do

The idea has been taken up across England and Wales by a variety of agencies, with fully operational projects from the north of England down to the south west. Circles are now also being developed in Scotland. If you might be interested in volunteering as a Circle volunteer contact Circles UK to be put in touch with a local project in your area. Training and ongoing support are provided.

Some people are also setting up informal circles, inspired by the Canadian model, for individuals they know. We ask that they call them something different, to avoid confusion with the fully worked-through Circles of Support and Accountability, but we are glad that the ideas are proving useful.

Contact Circles UK to be put in touch with a local project in your area.

From Circles UK, published by Jessica Kingsley, ‘A Community-Based Approach to the Reduction of Sexual Reoffending’; the first book on Circles of Support and Accountability. By Stephen Hanvey, Terry Philpot and Chris Wilson. August 2011. More details from Circles UK http://www.circles-uk.org.uk