PROBATION officers in Bolton are celebrating after new figures showed that 75 per cent of the offenders they deal with complete community orders.

More than half are in work by the time they complete the orders and nine out of every 10 have somewhere stable to live when they have finished.

Bolton's head of probation John Brimley said the figures showed they were "delivering on promises" and helping to cut the chance of offenders returning to crime.

The Cheshire & Greater Manchester Community Rehabilitation Company (CGM CRC) supervises low and medium risk offenders, and was established last year as part of the Goverment's overhaul of probation.

Bolton notched up a “good” overall rating for work delivered between June and December.

The performance report shows that more than 75 per cent of offenders are completing their orders and licences successfully across the borough.

The CGM CRC was ranked fifth of the 21 groups nationally.

The Bolton and Wigan unit achieved a "green" banding of performance, along with Manchester Trafford and Salford, and Stockport and Tameside.

The area outperformed its counterparts in Oldham, Rochdale and Bury.

When offenders fail to complete their sentence, they are returned to court for re-sentencing and could end up with either a tougher community sentence or be sent to jail.

The report also shows that more than 53 per cent of offenders are in work when they complete their order or licence, and more than 90 per cent are in settled accommodation. Both are recognised as key factors in helping someone lead a crime free life.

Mr Brimley said: “I am delighted that we have achieved our best performance figures, which shows that we are delivering on our promise to provide world class offender management.

“We manage offenders to reduce their risk and likelihood of committing more crime, and this is a vital element in our wider goal of protecting the community we serve.

“Probation also aims to hold offenders to account for their actions and works to ensure their rehabilitation.”

A total of 948 offenders were being supervised on community sentences and prison licences by staff in Wigan and Bolton at the end of December, including offenders undertaking Community Payback.

Mr Brimley said: “The best way to stop people from re-offending is to address the reasons why they committed crime in the first place, and we are dedicated to achieving that aim. We also run specific behavioural programmes aimed at preventing re-offending.

“It is a proven fact that when individuals have a home and a regular job, re-offending rates fall dramatically. Currently, re-offending rates of those under supervision by CGM CRC are below predicted levels, which is evidence that our staff are achieving effective results.

“We work closely with police and the Community Safety Partnership, as joint work between all agencies is vital if reoffending rates are to be reduced.”