Funding has been awarded by the Scottish Government to 23 organisations working across Scotland to help break the cycle of reoffending.
In a decisive shift towards preventative spending, the Reducing Reoffending Change Fund was one of three change funds created by the Scottish Government to invest in prevention.
The Scottish Government has allocated £7.5m for the fund to invest in reducing reoffending programmes from now until March 2015.
The announcement, by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, marks the first round of investments made from the fund, totalling £1.5m. Grants ranging from £6,656 to £200,000 are being distributed to a range of organisations across Scotland which run, or are designing, mentoring schemes to steer offenders away from crime.
This includes helping offenders adjust after being released from custody, comply with court orders, tackle alcohol and drug misuse and return to employment.