Chris joined Surrey Youth Justice Service in September 2004, as Divisional Manager-county services, with lead responsibility for restorative justice, community reparation, referral orders, victims, mentoring and volunteers.

Chris is now a member of Surrey’s Youth Support Service (YSS) Senior Management Team with lead responsibilities for restorative practice development, leading a restorative practice learning and development strategy in the support of restorative leadership, restorative organisation and service delivery with criminal justice, care services, accommodation and education provider partners, towards a more ‘restorative surrey’.

Previously Chris worked for Crime Concern as a National Programme Manager as the RJ lead,working with policy makers (YJB/Home Office) and practitioners and community groups in the statutory, voluntary and community sectors, as a trainer, researcher and project/capacity builder.

Chris’s most recent focus has been in the development of Surrey’s YRI (Youth Restorative Intervention) and Community Conferencing but he has also worked to develop restorative practice in wider community and organisational settings including schools. Chris was a member of the Restorative Justice Consortium, now the RJC (Restorative Justice Council) since its inception 16 years ago and currently serves as a member of the Standards and Accreditation (SAB) sub group of the RJC board. Chris is also a member of the MoJ /RJ Action Plan Implementation Board.

Chris has previously been a Project Manager, setting up a Mediation and Reparation service based in Southampton and South-West Hampshire as part of the Wessex YOT pilot. Before this he worked for Barnados as both a Youth Justice Team Manager and a senior practitioner in youth justice. During this period (prior to the Crime and Disorder Act, 1998) he was involved in setting up a Restorative Conferencing and Family Conferencing service for young offenders and victims of crime.

Prior to this Chris spent many years working for local authorities as a children and families social worker specialising in child protection work. Chris has a CQSW and MA in Social Policy and Social Work.