SOCIAL science graduate Colin Dearden is on a mission to protect the public and reduce crime as Lancashire's new deputy chief probation officer.
His role includes overseeing the supervision of 6,000 offenders in the community, in prisons and after release and the preparation of pre-sentence reports for judges and magistrates.
He is based at probation headquarters in Preston but will be working closely with other local and county-based organisations throughout Lancashire.
The married father-of-two, of Carnforth, has a masters degree in business administration. He qualified as a probation officer at the University of Keele and has worked in Merseyside, the Midlands and Lancashire, during his career.
He said: "It's a great opportunity to be returning to the Lancashire service
"Being put on probation or community service means being given a tough sentence which will be rigorously enforced. Our job is to make sure that what we do to confront the offenders really works, making them less likely to offend again."
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