Meet Peter
Peter Hughes is the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership’s new Probation Lead. Here is a resume of his career and a word or two on his hopes for the post – welcome, Peter!
Peter Hughes is the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership’s new Probation Lead. Here is a resume of his career and a word or two on his hopes for the post – welcome, Peter!
“On 6th March 2023 I joined the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership as the Probation Lead. I am delighted to be part of a partnership that aims to reduce violence within our local community and is an excellent example of how partnership working between different agencies can have such a positive impact.
I have worked in the Probation Service since 1983. I started as a volunteer in Liverpool and then worked in Wirral between 1985 and 1987. I then completed my training, which at the time was the Certificate of Qualification in Social work/Diploma in Probation Studies, and qualified in 1989. My first role as a qualified Probation Officer was in Rawtenstall in Lancashire, and I returned to Merseyside in 1991.
Since that time, I have worked in a variety of settings:
* South Liverpool managing people on Orders and Licenses in the community.
* At Liverpool Magistrates’ Court in the mid-1990s
* At St Helens Youth Offending Team which was one of the first to be established in England.
In 2006 I took up role as a Senior Probation Officer in Knowsley and have worked almost exclusively in that location since then. I have been involved in a range of projects whilst based at Knowsley, and in 2010 I received a Butler Trust commendation for partnership working.
This was awarded in relation to the project set up in the Probation Office focusing on offender health and included blood borne virus screening. This was implemented with the close collaboration of the NHS and the local council. In 2011 my role changed, and I took a lead role for partnership working between the Probation Service and other agencies in Knowsley, as well as chairing MAPPA meetings (multi-agency public protection arrangements).
In 2014 I was transferred to the Merseyside Community Rehabilitation Company but remained working in a middle manager role in Knowsley and St Helens. In 2021 I rejoined the Probation Service when the CRCs and National Probation Service reunified and continued to work in Knowsley as a Team Manager.
This wide range of experience, including the commitment to partnership working, will be of great benefit in my new role in the VRP.”
Peter Hughes