23/11/11

By Andrew Holt

A Norwich prison officer has been voted Public Servant of the Year at the Guardian Public Services Awards 2011.

Dave Damerell, 48, a community liaison prison officer at HMP Norwich, won the prestigious prize for creating a work experience programme with his local shopping centre that has helped offenders into employment.

Since the scheme was set up two years ago with the Chapelfield shopping centre, 80% of the 89 offenders who have completed the eight-week programme left prison with a job lined up – more than double the national rate.

Since Damerell set up the scheme, prisoners from Norwich have clocked up 85,848 volunteering hours between them.

The work experience programme has been so successful that more local employers are being recruited to the scheme, while other prisons from across the county are hoping to copy the Norwich model.

Damerell, who joined the service 20 years ago, said: "Prisoners do really want to change their lives but quite often they aren't given the opportunity to prove themselves. Having a job on release from prison totally changes a prisoner's life and that of their family.

"For me, the satisfaction comes from helping somebody achieve that and at the same time reduce the re-offending rate and protect victims of crime. I really enjoy getting up in the morning and coming to work - I don't think everybody can say that."

Now in their eighth year, the Guardian Public Services Awards, in partnership with Hays, have become established as a celebration of excellence among organisations involved in commissioning or delivering innovative public services, whether they sit in the public, private or voluntary sectors.

The awards fall into three main categories: Service Delivery, Innovation and Progress and The Special Awards, which includes the Citizenship & Volunteering Prize, the coveted Guardian Public Servant of the Year award and the overall winner prize.

The overall prize is awarded to one of the Service Delivery or Innovation and Progress winners.

The winners:

SERVICE DELIVERY CATEGORIES

Children and young people
Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust for their Family Drug and Alcohol Court – a new and innovative approach to the problem of parental substance misuse in care proceedings.

Care of older people
Age Concern, Kingston upon Thames, for their Fit as a Fiddle courses which aim to tackle obesity amongst older people from groups deemed hard to reach

Complex needs
Tukes, part of NAViGO Health and Social Care Community Interest Company, a project which has redesigned the delivery of mental health services throughout North East Lincolnshire and tackled traditional problems associated with mental health wards.

Housing and regeneration
Glasgow Housing Association for their project involving the upgrade of homes as well as aiming to provide as many opportunities as possible for tenants to improve their lives.

Carers, families and communities
Bromley Mencap for their project which was the first of its kind in the UK to meet the needs of ageing parents and their disabled sons and daughters whom they previously cared for, and who have now become their carers.

Transport and mobility
Staffordshire County Council for the launch of their 'Your Staffordshire Card', which allows the under 20s to travel across Staffordshire by bus, at any time of the day, seven days a week for just £1 per journey throughout the day.

INNOVATION AND PROGRESS CATEGORIES (sponsored by NESTA's Public Services Innovation Lab)

Sustainability (sponsored by Capgemini)
N3 Service Provider (BT), for their Managed Video Conferencing Service, which aimed to stimulate a positive change in the way NHS staff work and has delivered many associated sustainable benefits.

Diversity and equality (sponsored by the Guardian)
Acton African Well Woman Centre, for their project to help anyone affected by the consequences of Female Genital Mutilation by providing families with advice and support.

Transformation (sponsored by Citrix)
Brighton & Hove city council Libraries, for their project Council Connect which aims to reduce the digital divide and support residents, often in multiple deprivation, to become digital by default.

Skills development (sponsored by CIPFA)
Scottish Social Services council, for their project which compares classroom teaching for social services staff with technology enhanced learning, delivered in the workplace, on mobile devices, as close to the realities of the job role as possible, as an alternative delivery model.

Customer service (sponsored by Oracle)
Terrence Higgins Trust, for their project LifePlus - a revolutionary new set of online, face-to-face and telephone support services for people living with HIV in the UK.

Partnership working (sponsored by Capita)
Westfield, which is a partnership incorporating four agencies who aim to improve outcomes for children, young people and families within their immediate reach.

SPECIAL AWARDS

Citizenship and volunteering
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, who have set up the Post Fire Support Team, a clean up service organised and run entirely by the volunteers who assist in providing support for minor domestic incidents.

Public servant of the year (sponsored by Fortinet)
Dave Damerell, community liaison prison officer, HM Prison Service, for creating a work experience programme with the local shopping centre that has helped offenders into employment.

OVERALL WINNER
Tukes part of NAViGO

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