Care Not Custody is an intervention service in partnership with Sussex Police and HMPPS Probation service, to divert women away from the criminal justice system, by offering an Out Of Course disposal (OOCD)* or to support women who are at risk of, or in Breach of their community orders to reengage with the service.
This project sits within BWC’s Inspire Service, which delivers holistic support for women who are involved in the Criminal Justice System and is the Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS) provider for women in Sussex. In line with BWC values, Inspire adopts a relational, trauma-informed, asset-based approach. Inspire supports women with a range of underlying needs, with the overarching aim of supporting women to move out of the Criminal Justice System and improve their access to a range of services.
*Care Not Custody encourages frontline police officers to consider an OOCD in cases where they would normally have charged a woman. Currently, women who receive a caution or community resolution do not have access to a women specific service in Sussex. Women who agree to the condition will be referred to BWC via the Adult OOCD team, for casework support, diverting them out of the formal criminal justice system into a holistic support package.
The Care Not Custody Senior Practitioner will assist with the day to day running of this service, through line management of caseworkers as well as supporting a caseload of women and assisting the manager with monitoring and evaluation of the service. The Care Not Custody Senior Practitioner will also be available to support the Inspire manager with Inspire’s core delivery.
Employer: BWC (Brighton Women’s Centre)
Job Title: Care Not Custody Senior Practitioner
Responsible to: Inspire Manager
Purpose of role: To support with the management of the day-to-day operation of the Care Not Custody Project, delivering targeted case-work interventions to women with; Out of Court Disposals or at risk or in Breach of their community orders as well as supporting the wider Inspire project in their work with women in the Criminal Justice System.
Salary Grade: £31,523.89 FTE
Working hours: 35 hours per week within normal office hours 9am – 5pm. Occasional out-of-hours may be required. Travel across Sussex will be expected.
Work locations: The project is Pan-Sussex with work base to be agreed. Travel to other BWC locations and partner locations will be expected. Care Not Custody staff are based in Brighton, West Sussex and East Sussex.
Contract Details: Fixed term until March 2026
Closing date for applications: noon on 27th June 2025
Interview dates: c. 8th/10th June 2025
To Apply
For the full job description, person specification and more information on BWC please download the Job Application Pack.
Please complete a job application pack and equalities monitoring form and return these to [email protected] before the deadline.
We do not accept CVs.
BWC is committed to inclusion and diversity and actively encourage applications from women from a variety of backgrounds, and with a range of skills and experiences. We are particularly interested to hear from women who have personal experience of the criminal justice system and those from Black or Racially Minoritised Communities who are currently under-represented in the organisation.
*This post is restricted to self-identifying women only as a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9 paragraph 1, Equality Act 2010 and is subject to an enhanced DBS check.