Our Aims, Vision, Mission and Values

Our Aims

The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has the clear objective to punish offenders and help reduce re-
offending. The service ensures effective end-to-end management of offenders both in the community and in custody
and is accountable to the Ministry of Justice, headed by Secretary of State Jack Straw. Offender management forms
the backbone of NOMS, with clear accountability at all levels for reducing reoffending. This focus on accountability
is crucial, so that we have effective systems in place to ensure that offenders receive the appropriate interventions
whether in custody or out in the community.

The discharge of the policies established by NOMS and which provide the foundation for probation operations are
designed to ensure:

• The protection of the public
• The reduction of re-offending
• The proper punishment of offenders
• Ensuring offenders’ awareness of the effects of crime on victims and the public, and
• The rehabilitation of offenders

Our Vision

Merseyside Probation Trust will be an excellent, innovative provider and commissioner of probation services, and an
influential voice in Merseyside and on the national scene.

Our Mission

Our purpose is to transform the lives of offenders, deliver the sentences of the courts and to protect the public and
the interests of victims. In so doing we contribute to the reduction of re-offending, the confidence of people as they
go about their everyday lives and to increased community confidence in the criminal justice system.

Our Values

Underpinning all our actions are our beliefs:

• in the capacity of people to change for the better;
• that people should be held responsible for their actions;
• in the individual rights of citizens;
• that it is the joint responsibility of all members of the community to combat crime and social breakdown;
• that legal intervention in the lives of individuals should be guided by what works, and be the minimum necessary to
protect the public, manage risk and reduce re-offending;
• that improper discrimination against individuals and groups takes place and we have a responsibility to do all we
can to prevent it;
• in openness and integrity in all that we do.
In developing our organisation we also recognise that the Trust:
• must work in partnership with other agencies to achieve its objectives;
• can always improve its performance;
• that the Trust can achieve nothing without its staff, and we are committed to nurturing their development and
potential.

Living these values will translate into doing what is best for Merseyside in our work with offenders, victims and the
community, and living them in our work with staff will enable us to build an inclusive organisation where people can
work with pride. We believe that these values will enable us to create trust and confidence and achieve positive
results, retaining our resolve throughout and persevering through difficult and challenging times.