Prolific and other Priority Offenders

The prolific and other priority offenders approach effectively manages offenders who are identified as committing a disproportionate amount of crime and harm in their local communities.

Within local integrated offender management arrangements, the prolific and other priority offender (PPO) approach provides a focus on the small hard core of most persistent offenders.

PPO schemes usually consist of three strands: 

• deter young offenders
• catch and convict
• rehabilitate and resettle

The PPO approach effectively manages offenders who are identified as committing a disproportionate amount of crime and harm in their local communities.

PPO schemes have been successful in reducing re-offending rates among targeted offenders. The latest data shows that during 2009-10, there was an overall reduction of 39 per cent in recorded reconvictions across England and Wales among 10,635 prolific and other priority offenders, compared to the year before.