Tribute to a truly remarkable leader

AS Chief Probation Officer for Northumbria from 1988 to 1999, can I pay my own tribute to George Gill, whose death you reported on Wednesday?

George was a remarkable leader of both Gateshead Council and Northumbria Police authority, a man of vision and compassion. The 1992 Criminal

Justice Act placed community supervision of offenders at the heart of sentencing policy in England and Wales, reserving prison for the most serious and violent offences.

Among the measures introduced to enable the Probation Service to safely supervise an increased number of offenders on court orders, was the proposed increased use of probation and bail hostels.

In Northumbria, we had two existing hostels, both in Newcastle, and planned to increase that number by establishing hostels in other local authorities. It almost goes without saying that this was not a popular decision!

However, the one authority which gave us solid support from the outset was Gateshead and in time, we opened a purpose-built hostel in Bensham. Gateshead Council, under George’s leadership, were able to see the value of having such a facility in the borough.

In the 90s, under the charismatic leadership of John Stevens, Chief Constable, and with the full support of the police authority, I together with other key figures, worked with John to establish two ground-breaking strategies in Northumbria. Community safety and youth justice. The strategies brought together leaders of the public, private and voluntary sectors, with the aim of reducing crime in our area. From 1991 to 1998, recorded crime in Northumbria fell by 46%, the largest decrease in the western world at that time. This was achieved by partnership working, an approach George Gill passionately believed in.

In 1998, the New Labour government’s Crime & Disorder Act required each local authority in England & Wales to establish community safety partnerships. It set up the Youth Justice Board, requiring local authorities to establish multiagency youth offending teams. Both of these new initiatives were influenced by what we had achieved in Northumbria.

Gateshead and the wider Northumbria region owe a great debt of gratitude to George and his chief executive with both the council and the police authority, Sir Les Elton. Under their watch, great things were achieved. MIKE WORTHINGTON,

Hexham