Prolific thief uses rehab programme to turn life around
A PROLIFIC thief who stole to support his drug habit has turned his back on crime after becoming the first offender to take part in a new rehabilitation programme.
Gary Rogers, from Biddulph, spent years in and out of prison and overdosed on heroin more than once.
But the 38-year-old is now clean, has stayed out of trouble for 12 months and is hoping to train as a plasterer.
Mr Rogers was the first person in North Staffordshire to start the Custody Diversion Programme (CuDP).
The scheme was introduced in May last year to give courts an alternative to custody for offenders facing less than 12 months in prison.
He was ordered to complete the programme, along with a six-month drugs rehabilitation requirement, after being convicted of stealing from a supermarket in February 2011.
It included one-to-one meeting to address his behaviour and group sessions to tackle his drug and alcohol abuse.
Mr Rogers said: "I'd been inside so many times that it wasn't making an impact. I was at a stage where I got used to being banged up.
"I've come a long way from when I used to take heroin and drink. At my worst, I was doing £40 of gear a day and drinking four cans of strong lager.
"I had to find the money from somewhere. But things are a lot better now, as I'm clean and this programme taught me ways to stay out of trouble."
Joe Holford, Mr Rogers's probation service officer, said the programme was a real alternative to jail time.
He said: "Typically, short-term prison sentences do not provide offenders with access to the support interventions designed to address their offending behaviour and drug addiction, and fail to break the cycle of offending.
"This programme can offer additional monitoring and support, which can help to avoid the revolving door of offending and short term custody, which Gary has experienced.
"It involves joint police and probation working to support the rehabilitation of offenders and ensure criminal behaviour is closely monitored.
"There were some challenging times with Gary at the start, but after the first few months, I could tell that he wanted to change.
"He learned to talk about his problems, instead of bottling them up and waiting for them to explode into another relapse of drugs and alcohol.
"In our one-to-one sessions, we worked on techniques to develop his patience and to slow his decision making process down.
"This combined with group sessions to address his alcohol and substance misuse."
Mr Rogers's order finished in November and he is currently prescribed Subutex, a heroin substitute.
He said: "After a couple of months, I started to notice the changes. I started to know the triggers, such as arguing with my dad or missus.
"In the old days, I would get into a rage and go back into drugs and booze. But now I've learned to think first.
"A lot of people I used to hang about with are now dead from being on gear. I could have been like them, in the past I overdosed a few times.
"But now I'm looking to the future. In prison I did some plastering training, which I'm hoping to continue on a college course in September."
Paul Levy, deputy head of Probation Staffordshire, said: "CuDP is a credible direct alternative to short-term prison sentences, which we know often result in high re-offending rates.
"We are looking to further develop this structured intervention for offenders like Gary, who instead of going to prison, can be given the tools to live law-abiding lives."
14 Comments
View all
by criminolgy
Wednesday, February 15 2012, 10:26AM
“ive noticed that comments are edited following my last message i was about to say that speaking from gary rogers and linda dean,why are the comments of established writers more important than the opinion of the man whose story is being written about i was about to say it is the hidden criminals of white collar crime who are just as bad as the average criminal yet these crimes are rarely put out into the open”
by criminolgy
Wednesday, February 15 2012, 10:20AM
“when my best friend died 7 months ago after 20 yrs of friendship ,it had been a difficult time for both of us he developed schizophrenia after his parents death and alcohism although we got divorced i remained by his side for 20 yrs, i was made homeless by the council over his death ansd due to being childless voluntarily they said i fitted no housing need ,if gary hadnt had been there i would have lost my cat and all my belongings .
following my best friends death of a bloodclot at 45 , 7 months ago ,i found myself evicted by the council, as childless with a cat i fitted no housing need,luckily i had met gary shortly before, helping him to renovate his fathers house and i was able to put my cat and house belongings in there after clearing the whole house after squatters. I turned my attentions towards getting gary to his custody diversity appointments, a lot of work i was done behind the scenes, without pay or recognition ,as i saw potential,i have been depressed due to my friends death, so i focused on helping gary to take my mind off my own grief. Gary lost his mother at 19, which triggered his behaviour and addictions,he is much better now,with honest support. y Although i hate heroin, cocaine and beer,i can understand through death and alienation, how these problems occur,it is the hidden thieves of white collar crime who are just as bad if not worse than an open ex criminal,lets see if this comment stays on, as well as corrected comments, from established writers that feel that their opinion is more important than ours linda dean psychology criminology student and gary rogers whom the article is about.”
by Wozzer101
Tuesday, February 14 2012, 9:24PM
“Fairs fair, he's giving it a go, good lad, wish you all the best.”
by CHARRIOT
Tuesday, February 14 2012, 8:58PM
“If he has changed then less expense to us well done keep it up.”
by E_D_Wivens
Tuesday, February 14 2012, 5:54PM
“has stayed out of trouble for 12 months"
I'll believe it if he gets to twelve years without further incident.”
by mrdoulton
Tuesday, February 14 2012, 5:01PM
“fair play mate keep it going not everyones as brave as u to admit it . I think you should be congratulated”
by nelsonl
Tuesday, February 14 2012, 2:58PM
“Very well done, you deserve a big pat on the back Gary. It must of been real hard, but you have done it, keep up the great work.
Also it must be a good incentive to all the other drug users out there to read stories like this, or go on the same programme (after theyve served the prison sentance if committed a crime, and not use this scheme as a kop out instead of prison)
If after a prison sentance and this fails for others you can then think "well they had the help they cried out for, and yet still abuse the system, Mr Judge Justice throw away the key":)
once again, well done gary and hope your job goes well for you.”
by Milton_Keanes
Tuesday, February 14 2012, 1:25PM
“He states "I had to find the money from somewhere..."
As do we all.
After his "new rehabilitation programme" will he be commencing "a new reparation programme"? It's all about the problems he has had, nothing has been written about the problems he caused to others as he pursued his selfish lifestyle.”
by Notanumber
Tuesday, February 14 2012, 1:13PM
“Very nice but it took until he was 37 yrs old before he decided to reform. What of all the folks he prolfically stole from before that? It would have been in his favour if he'd shown some contrition when talking to this publication and offered some form of apology, instead what I read is 'me, me, me.'”
by LewisL
Tuesday, February 14 2012, 12:56PM
“I think Gary should be congratulated for completing this programme successfully, because lets face it not many people would. It needs a lot of willpower, and not many people like this are willing to put the hard work in. Well done Gary.”