Darker Days to Come (The DI Jimmy Bliss Crime Series Book 9) by Tony J Forder

Author:Tony J Forder [J Forder, Tony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-03-13T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-SEVEN

A relatively new build in a street of late Victorian homes, the offices of the Cambridge Probation service were tasteful, comfortable, and cool on a warm early May day. Grant McKinney and Ione Pearson had insisted the interview take place on home territory, and had both initially seemed reluctant to be in the same room as Bliss and Chandler. They gathered in McKinney’s office; he was the more senior of the two probation officers. Hot drinks had been provided. Ignoring a plate of cookies, Bliss took a couple of sips from his cup of black coffee before deciding it was time to get into their reason for travelling to Cambridge city centre.

‘As you were advised, our Chief Constable has granted us the authority to discuss this matter with you both,’ he began. He paused, wondering how forceful he might need to be. He decided to give them the opportunity to speak freely. ‘I’m sure by now you’ve also been informed of Morgan Latchford’s death. Let me be clear, my colleague and I are aware of his former name and what he did when he was a child. When he was released on licence, he was still Dean Norman in everything but name. You inherited him from Kent after his adult appearance was compromised there with the taking and posting online of a photograph. Since when, you, together with our CC, have been responsible for monitoring him. To begin with, I’d like to know what that all means and how it works.’

‘I’m afraid we cannot possibly go into precise detail,’ McKinney said a little too quickly for Bliss’s liking. ‘As you will know, these court injunctions allied to lifelong anonymity rulings require us to keep shared information to a minimum. I can tell you we apply OASys to all offenders, irrespective of their particular standing.’

‘This is the Offender Assessment system, yes?’ Chandler said.

‘It is. In effect, we use it as a guideline for assessing the needs and the risks of the offenders. It helps us identify the threats they pose, as well as how best to minimise those dangers and effectively tackle their behaviour.’

‘And how does that work?’ Bliss asked. ‘Break it down for us.’

Ione Pearson took a drink and grasped her hands together in her lap. Tall, willowy and elegant with an oval face and prominent cheekbones, the woman was clearly uncomfortable being part of such a discussion. ‘That’s easy enough,’ she said with more confidence than she projected. ‘We begin by assessing how likely an offender is to re-offend. We then identify and classify offending-related needs on both sides. Part of that overall assessment requires us to look at the risk of serious harm to the offender and also to the public by the offender. We then formulate a plan designed to manage these risks. Once this has been achieved, we link this to the offender’s supervision or sentencing plan, and we will indicate the need or otherwise of additional specialist assessment. Of course, we then measure and monitor and decide whether changes are required during the probationary period.

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