CASS+ has been the perfect stepping stone for criminology graduate Alicia.
Alicia heard about CASS+ on Indeed and joined our team as a volunteer in November 2022 after graduating with a first in Criminology from the University of the West of England. This opportunity has given her huge satisfaction, supporting vulnerable people one day a week at Plymouth Magistrates’ Court.
All her hard work has paid off because she is now moving to Cardiff to become a Victim Support Worker with national charity Victim Support. In this new role, she will be giving advice and support in much the same way as she has as a volunteer at CASS+. Alicia knows that the CASS+ training and experience has enabled her to develop highly relevant skills and knowledge for her career.
Alicia has grown in confidence and improved her communication skills and understanding of the criminal justice system. She has also learnt many new administrative skills like database management and accurate data inputting. Whilst on board, she has been able to make full use of the CASS+ in-house, on-demand training available on Embrace Learning in order to learn more about things like confidentiality, data protection and work-life balance.
Volunteering has been the perfect opportunity for Alicia to think carefully about her career whilst extending her knowledge of a range of cases, from breach of community orders to drink-driving, and from assault to domestic abuse. She’s learnt not to judge people facing conviction because she can see that there are often very complicated underlying reasons for them being at court, and many have been let down by the system.
Alicia now has the necessary knowledge and experience to move forward with confidence:
Everyone really supports each other at CASS+. I’ve learnt so much about the criminal justice system and how to work with vulnerable people. I’m really thankful for the way the team has been so generous in sharing their knowledge and experience with me and I will definitely stay in touch.