Kent's private probation company responsible for managing thousands of offenders in the county is to become employee-owned.

The John Lewis-type model has come in today after Seetec's founder sold 51% of his stake in to a trust for the benefit of its 2,500 staff.

The Essex-based public services provider is responsible for Kent, Surrey and Sussex's Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) which employs 1,500 probation workers across the region.

CRCs were launched in 2015 when Chris Grayling was in charge of the Ministry of Justice and are responsible for managing low and medium risk offenders across the country. High risk criminals, such as murderers as rapists, are still the responsibility of the government.

But the project has largely failed and it was announced last year that probation will be brought back under public ownership when the CRC contracts, of which there are 21 nationally, end this December.

In Kent, Surrey and Sussex the CRC currently looks after 9,000 offenders.

Read more: How the CRC is working to cut offending

“Seetec was founded to help people to take ownership and responsibility over their lives... it is a logical step for employees to take on ownership..."

The move by Seetec, which also provides skills, employment, justice and rehabilitation services, means it is now the 9th largest employee-owned company in the UK.

A new employee council will be set up to manage and represent the interests of employees, which include frontline probation workers, employment coaches and trainers.

Across the country Seetec supports 30,000 criminals

Mr Cooper said: “Seetec was founded to help people to take ownership and responsibility over their lives and so it is a logical step for Seetec’s employees to take on ownership of the business.

“As I approach 36 years at the helm of the business, I have increasingly wrestled with how best to protect these values, ethos and roots in communities across the UK and Ireland. I have never been satisfied that a sale to outside investors would protect our record as a force for good, fearing that we would be subsumed into a corporate culture which is not sufficiently focused on doing the right thing for the people who use our services.

“It is Seetec’s employees who know the people they support best and understand instinctively what it takes to deliver life-changing services. The evidence also shows that employee owners can be more productive, engaged and innovative.”

Seetec Group Managing Director, John Baumback, said: “Employee ownership means that Seetec’s future is now in the hands of our people, certain in the knowledge that we cannot be sold to the highest bidder."

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