Suffolk Probation Area manages two approved premises or hostels, for male offenders. Residents include offenders with a residence requirement on their community order, people released from prison under licence, or people on bail ordered by the court to live at the hostel. Living in a hostel enables ex-prisoners to find more permanent accommodation and move back into the community gradually.
Offenders living at a hostel must abide by a strict set of rules, including a drugs and alcohol ban, and pay rent. They must abide by a night-time curfew, usually between 11pm to 7am.
Staff at the hostels include fully trained probation officers. Staff work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to manage the residents. Staff are constant figures, there to supervise, make demands, ensure compliance with orders and to encourage people to take more responsibility for their actions.
