A new £3million centre designed to reduce reoffending by young adults will be based in Stratford.

The hub at Newham Probation Office will provide specialist services, including drug and mental health support, for people aged 18 to 25 who are under probation supervision.

It’s the first hub of its kind, trialling a new approach to young adult probation which, if successful at reducing reoffending and improving outcomes, will be rolled out across the country.

Young adults have a particularly high risk of reoffending and are more likely to commit drug, robbery and weapons offences and be caught up in gang crime.

Newham Recorder: Capital House in Romford Road, Stratford, where Newham Probation Office is based.Capital House in Romford Road, Stratford, where Newham Probation Office is based. (Image: Google)

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Robert Buckland MP, said: “This ground-breaking new model will help offenders get their lives back on the straight-and-narrow before it’s too late and they become career criminals.

“It will mean less reoffending and fewer people becoming victims of crime while also giving these young adults all the tools they need to make the most of their lives."

Mental health and substance misuse experts will work alongside National Probation Service staff to ensure vulnerable young adults - many of whom had troubled upbringings and poor education - receive the enhanced support they need to avoid a life of crime.

Accommodation, training and employment services will also operate from the hub, as offenders released without a home or a job are significantly more likely to reoffend.

The new model was developed by the Ministry of Justice and the Mayor for London’s Office for Policing and Crime.

Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Sophie Linden, said: “It’s vital we do everything we can to prevent reoffending and give young people who have been through the criminal justice system the support they need to turn their lives around.

“We know the pandemic has meant fewer jobs and opportunities for our young people and that is why this new hub in Newham is so important.

“It will give us the platform to make vital interventions and deliver specialist support to vulnerable young people, helping them turn away from crime and rebuild their lives through access to housing, education and job opportunities.”

The pilot will run from this July until March 2023.