The Tank Museum - Bovington - Latest News and Press Releases

MUSEUM SCOOPS NATIONAL AWARD FOR WORK WITH OFFENDERS

News Release issued: 24th November 2005

A partnership involving The Tank Museum and the Dorset Community Service unit have won a major national award for their work with offenders.
The partnership, which also includes Weymouth College, won `Partnership of the Year` at the National Justice Awards 2005, held in London. The partnership was chosen from more than 300 nominees from across the country. David Willey, Museum Curator, said; "We have been working with the Community Service Unit for almost four years now, and the programme has developed to benefit us, The Community Service Unit and the offenders we host. Offenders on the programme are mainly aged 16 to 24, and as many were excluded from school before sitting their GCSE's, they are unlikely to have any formal academic qualifications and are likely to be unemployed. Mike Mathews of Dorset Probation Service said; "The main aim of the project is to increase the employability of offenders on Community Punishment Orders by achieving Level 2 in literacy and numeracy (equivalent to a grade C at GCSE), and allowing them to gain an engineering qualification at the same time. "The Museum has been providing engineering facilities and space in the Archive and Reference Library for the weekly basic skills sessions. With teaching staff provided by Weymouth College, offenders also gain experience and knowledge of an orderly and safe workplace. This promotes the work ethic and has proved valuable in improving their chances of finding a job on completion of the sentence. "In return," says Mike, "The Museum has assistance in keeping the vehicles and exhibits clean, and others can be renovated for use in live demonstrations. "This is a punishment that is changing lives," added Mike. "One offender was employed for the first time in 14 years having completed his programme at The Tank Museum. Offenders are achieving things here that they have not had the motivation to do before; like qualifications. Many offenders had been told they were `thick` and not to bother turning up for their GCSE's. "One such offender cried when presented with his Level 2 Numeracy Certificate. It was the first certificate he had ever earned; and he had achieved something he was told he would never get." Criminal Justice Minister Baroness Scotland of Asthal said; "There are many thousands of unsung heroes in our criminal justice system, who make a real difference to the quality of life in our communities every day. "These awards are a chance to thank just a few of those people. They reward those who have gone the extra mile to fight crime and make our criminal justice system work."
ENDS
Before - a 432 armoured vheicle being renovated by Community Service Workers Hi Quality image: Right hand click on the above picture and click 'save target as' (642KB) - left hand click will open photo in new window
*After - the 432 being used by The Museum to teach the public how to drive armoured vehicles.* Hi Quality image: Right hand click on the above picture and click 'save target as' ( 537KB) - left hand click will open photo in new window

Return to News Section Homepage

Press Release Archive :: Armour & Drama :: Articles :: Projects

Website maintained by Web of Knowledge Limited
Hosted by FutureServers.Net

© 2000-2005 - The Tank Museum Ltd, Bovington.
Reg Charity No.: 1102661; Reg Company No.: 4962619