TRAFFORD Probation Service is taking part in a 24-hour Twitterthon, in which staff will constantly update followers about its role.


Staff at the probation office, on Newton Street, Old Trafford, supervise offenders on community sentences as well as prisoners on licence from prison.


The trust aims to increase public safety by holding offenders to account for their actions, while also supporting their rehabilitation.


Tim Kyle, assistant chief executive, said: “It is easy to overlook the work of probation because the service only really grabs media headlines when things go wrong.


“That is why I am delighted that staff from across the trust is participating in a Twitterthon that is aimed at raising awareness about our work.


“We have a dedicated team of professionals who work tirelessly to ensure that offenders are complying with the orders they have been sentenced to by magistrates and judges, and who also strive to support offenders to help them once again become positive members of their community.”


Trafford is the first probation service in the country to undertake a 24-hour Twitterthon and hopes the exercise will better inform residents of the work it does in the borough.


Mr Kyle added: “We work closely with a range of agencies - including the police, local authority and prison service - to protect the community, and I hope that people who are able to follow Twitter will get a flavour of the range of tasks we undertake.”


The Twitterthon is taking place on Thursday, December 12. Follow @gmptprobationPR, hashtag #GMPT24.