Two innovative Education, Training and Employment (ETE) projects were established in April 1997 to work with offenders under probation supervision. Each was funded for three years, with a view to increasing employability and reducing the rate and seriousness of reoffending. The Advice and Support Services for Education and Training (ASSET) project was based in the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark, and worked with 16–25 year olds in contact with the Inner London Probation Service (ILPS). The other project, run by Surrey Springboard, was county-wide and targeted all offenders under supervision of the Surrey Probation Service (SPS). This report presents the results of a three-year evaluation of both schemes.

This introductory chapter begins by considering previous research on the link between unemployment and crime and what we know about ETE programmes. There is then a discussion of the aims, organisation and history of the ASSET and Springboard schemes, including the role of New Deal. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the aims of the evaluation and the research methodology.