News Sentence plan


to helpwomen A NEW approach to keeping women out of jail is being put to the test inMaidstone. Judges will now have the option


of sentencing female offenders to a six-week intensive supervision order thatwill offer themsupport to tackle housing, training or other problems that drive offending. The trial is conducted by Kent,


Surrey and Sussex Community Re- habilitation Company (KSS CRC). The pilot follows new evidence


that shows women are more likely to be jailed for their offences. Upto 50probation officerswill re-


ceive the newtraining,with the first qualifying in July. KSS CRC head of rehabilitation


Claire Jones says it is hoped it will address the causes of women’s of- fending before they are sentencedto custody and so reduce harmto their families and thewider community. Former offender SandraWeir said:


“Local authorities kick women sent to prison out of their homes.Others have their children taken away and still more are unable to get into training, education or work. I hope this approach helpswomen to solve their problems before they end up behind bars.”


downsmail.co.uk


Op Stack solution elusive with Brexit on the horizon


DEPARTMENT for Transport bosses have admitted that finding a permanent solution toOperation Stack is proving harder than first anticipated. With less than a year to go before


theUK leaves the EuropeanUnion, anxieties are growing that therewill be regular standstills on theM20 if a deal is not struck byMarch 2019. According to a source close to the


DfT, Highways England (HE), the agency taskedto finda solution pre- Brexit, is exploring all permanent possibilities, including a lorry park and even a continuation of Opera- tion Stack. We understand that, as temporary


measures,HE plans to use the hard shoulder of theM20, bring theM26 into commission or create a freight holding area nearWhitfield,Dover. Last year, the then Port of Dover


chief executive Tim Waggott warned of 17-mile queues either side of the Channel if the two- minute average freight processing time per vehicle is increased after Brexit. About 10,000 freight move-


ments pass through the Port of Dover each day.Observers arewor- ried that queues of lorries will stretch back to Maidstone, causing misery to residents and businesses on the alternativeA20 route. Villages aroundMaidstonemight


also suffer severe congestion. No avenues to permanently solve


the absence of a lorry park have proved successful, a source close to theDfT told us. The source added: “The clock is


ticking and it seems that the solu- tion toOperation Stack ismoreOp-


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eration Stack. It has been in place for three decades and no solution has been found.What are the chances it is going to happen in 12 months? Some politicians don’t get howlong this has been going on and are con- tinuing to bury their heads in the sand. “Theymight discover to their cost


howpolitically toxic thismight turn out to be.” But DownsMail has learned that


in anticipation of issues, Highways England will start to reinforce the hard shoulder between junctions eight (LeedsCastle/Maidstone) and junction nine (Ashford). The work is due to be finished byOctober. This temporary measure would


create the capacity for 3,000 lorries. If traffic is likely to back up be-


yond the capacity of the M20, the DfT has indicated itwould consider using theM26 (which links theM20 and theM25). The Department for Transport


spokesman said: “The department will be consulting on a permanent solution in due course.”


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*Source ABC January to December 2017. Average copies per issue. Maidstone Weald June 2018 31


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