Our Team

Safer Lives was established in 2014 thanks to a shared vision for supporting people being investigated for online sexual offences. Together we have created a sector-leading agency which gives guidance to those in crisis whilst ensuring risk to the individual and others is appropriately managed. Our Safer Lives team have been handpicked for their specialist skills and experience as well as their non-judgemental ethos and approachable manner.

Andy has 18 years’ experience as a widely respected probation officer. He was a regional trainer in working effectively with life sentenced prisoners and a specialist in the re-integration and resettlement of those who had committed serious sexual offences. He was also highly respected and experienced as an assessor and report writer for the Courts and Parole Board on sexual offence cases. Trained in numerous risk assessment qualifications (OASys, RM2000, ARMS and SARA), Andy holds a Diploma in Probation Studies and Post-graduate Certificate in Education for Adults. Andy is passionate about giving people the opportunity and help to make changes. Together with Jenny Greensmith, Andy chairs the Yorkshire division of NOTA, a national organisation which supports professionals to prevent sexual abuse.

Jenny is a specialist in the treatment of harmful sexual behaviours. She worked as a probation officer for nine years with a specialism in sexual offences. Jenny went on to become the Treatment Coordinator for the Probation Sex Offender Treatment Programmes across West Yorkshire. In 2013, Jenny moved to the Youth Offending Service and was the specialist in working with young people with harmful sexual behaviours. She has consistently worked as a trainer and consultant to staff and other agencies who support these individuals and their families. Jenny is trained to carry out Assessment Intervention and Moving On (AIM) and AIM2 assessments, which she does for a number of local authorities. AIM assessments are one of the best tools for assessing harmful sexual behaviour in children and young people. Jenny is a compassionate and caring individual. She is pioneering our work with the families and partners/ex partners of people under investigation.

Prior to joining the Safer Lives team in 2021, Steve worked for The Lucy Faithfull Foundation for 18 years. His extensive 25-year career includes five years as a probation officer and two years working with West Midlands Police. During his career he has provided training on working with men who commit sexual offences, to various agencies. Training attendees have included probation officers, social workers, psychologists and police officers. Steve is a qualified social worker and accredited Brain Working Recursive Therapy Practitioner. He is also a co-author of the NOTA publication, Working with Sex Offenders, A Practitioners Guide, Routledge 2017.

Jayne joined Safer Lives in July 2021. With 16 years’ experience as a probation officer and an additional 10 years in the care sector, Jayne has built her career on her drive to support people. During her time as a probation officer, Jayne mainly worked with high-risk offenders. She also worked in the court team and attended child protection conferences and parole boards. Supporting our clients to make positive life changes and maintain successful outcomes, is her priority. Jayne’s caring, person-centred approach, has been praised by many of our clients.

Graham joined the Safer Lives team in March 2022. He came to us from the Probation Service, where he first started in 2007. Qualifying as a probation officer in 2009, Graham has a wealth of experience in both the assessment and management of people convicted of a range of offences, including serious sexual and violent offences. During his time at the Probation Service, Graham helped to develop a pioneering peer group, enabling people that were subject to statutory probation supervision to share their experiences with other men and women going through the criminal justice system. He was also involved in the establishment of a victim-lead forum to directly support the victims of crime. Graham holds local youth worker certification and has experience working with young people. He was seconded to Leeds Youth Offending Service between 2013-2016 where he worked in the assessment and management of young people under 18, including those convicted of sexual offences.

Safer Lives and our practitioners are ably supported by our specialist administrators Gabriel and Lucy. Gabriel is responsible for our evaluation and research processes and collaboratinion with our university partners - most notably Sheffield Hallam University. Lucy supports the directors in making sure that Safer Lives is as effective and efficient in our business processes as possible.