What Works – Custody Coaches
The Custody Coaches intervention was set up in January 2023, and a randomised trial was commenced in January 2024, following a process evaluation being conducted. It was designed to engage with people who were in police custody having been arrested for a violent or weapons offence in four custody blocks within Thames Valley Police.
It was hypothesised that time in custody may act as a reachable or teachable moment for an individual, and that meeting a mentor in custody could utilise the impact of the arrest as a significant personal event, to prompt positive behavioural change when they are potentially at their lowest, through a provision of mentoring support, hope and an opportunity to access additional support.
There was no significant difference between the treatment and control groups on any of the following factors:
- Rate of return to custody within 6 months
- Offending rate in non-police initiated crimes
- Offending rate in violent crimes
- Offending rate in violent or sexual crimes
- Offending rate in knife crimes
- Whether the person returned to police custody on one or more occasion