A Review of the Fife Circles of Support and Accountability Project Commissioned by SACRO - Final Report

Abstract

SCCJR was commissioned by Sacro in March 2013 to conduct an independent review of its Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) project running in Fife. CoSA make use of community volunteers to form a circle around socially isolated, high risk offenders offering them support while also monitoring. SCCJR team Dr Sarah Armstrong and Ms Diane Wills (PhD student and Criminal Justice Social Worker) conducted the research between March and July 2013. This report is the product of that review and includes background on the research on CoSA generally; a description of the organisation of the Fife CoSA (the first such project to be funded in Scotland); perspectives of key stakeholders (core members, volunteers, Sacro staff, Criminal Justice Social Workers, local authority funders, police); and an analysis of operations.