Meet Esther, Criminal Justice Consultant
With over 15 years’ experience in the criminal justice sector, spanning both custodial and community settings, Esther has worked directly with individuals in prison and on release, helping them understand the roots of their offending and supporting their journey toward rehabilitation. From conducting risk assessments as a Probation Service Officer to training mentors for community reintegration, she has seen first-hand how transformative meaningful employment can be. She founded Myrtos Consultancy to help employers embrace inclusive hiring practices, recognising the immense social value in giving people with convictions a fair chance to work, grow, and thrive. By breaking down stigma and offering purposeful opportunities, we can reduce reoffending and build a workforce that reflects resilience, diversity, and hope. Book in a chat with us today
I believe everyone deserves a fair chance, and that starts with employment.
Esther, Founder of Myrtos Consultancy
Esther, Founder of Myrtos Consultancy
Growing up I lived in a nice village on the edge of a nice town. Not long after we moved there when I was 4, our neighbours stole my parents’ car. I didn’t hear any more about that. A few years later a new family moved in.
The parents were addicted to drugs and alcohol, and the youngest son was often at our house; he became like a younger brother to me. It was during these times that I really witnessed my parents being loving, kind, caring, firm, but fair to the parents who so often turned up much later than they had promised to get their child.
My parents were patient when we would get a knock on the door late at night from a police officer asking us to take the youngest son in or be with the mother because one of the older boys or her partner had become violent.
I witnessed my parents love without judgement year after year after year. I can only say that it was during these years that a seed must have been planted in my heart to get to know and understand the men and women who find themselves in the criminal justice system.
Esther's Story
Experience in the Criminal Justice Sector
I now have over 15 years' experience working in the criminal justice sector, both in a custodial and community setting.
I worked as an Assistant Psychologist in a local men's prison, and then qualified as a Probation Service Officer within the same prison. My speciality was writing risk assessments on newly sentenced prisoners, seeking to understand what factors contributed to their offending behaviour, and working with them to find ways of helping them reduce re-offending on release.
I founded Myrtos Consultancy because I believe that everyone should be given a fair chance to work, grow, and thrive, regardless of their past. So many individuals who leave prison or who have a conviction feel ashamed and without a sense of purpose. Prison, or a life of crime, can often feel like the only place where they are understood. Providing employment to someone who has been through the criminal justice system increases yours and their social value, helps to break down the walls of shame, which in turn can break the cycle of offending and reduce recidivism.
I then began working for a charity in a community setting, assessing individual's suitability for a community mentoring programme on release from prison. I also trained mentors to support someone, who had a criminal conviction, in the community, providing them support and guidance as they mentored the individual they had been paired with. This has provided me with the community experience which has highlighted the challenges that men and women leaving prison can face; meaningful, sustainable employment being one of them.
My hope is that one day every employer is willing, and able, to hire someone who has a criminal record. I hope that more people who have been in the criminal justice system will have a sense of purpose, a loving community, and a way of positively being part of society.
The Meaning Behind ‘Myrtos’
The word Myrtos is the Greek for Myrtle, which comes from the Hebrew word for the name Esther. Esther, the founder of Myrtos Consultancy, has a heart to see everyone realise their potential and be accepted for who they are not what they have done. The Myrtle plant has green leaves and either white, purple, red, or pink flowers. Its flowers symbolise love and devotion, the plant symbolises purity, hope and rebirth and the Hebrew for Myrtle means peace, joy, generosity, and justice. These are all attributes that Myrtos Consultancy stands for, and hopes will be extended to someone who has a conviction by businesses and organisations, as well as the wider society.
The Impact of Hiring People with Criminal Records
Reliable employees
Save tax payers money
Over 90% of employers have positively rated their reliability, motivation, attendance and performance.
£18 billion: Estimated cost of reoffending annually.
£54,734 : Annual cost of one prison place
Reduce re-offending
Enhanced reputation
92%: Employers report enhanced reputation from diverse hiring
81% of people think that businesses are making a positive contribution to society
50%: The amount employment reduces reoffending by.
31.1% of people leaving prison who manage to get a job within 6 months of release.
Challenge beliefs
12.5 million: The amount of people in the UK that have a criminal record.
Enabling a more Diverse and Inclusive workplace
When asked, the majority of people in prison, 97%, expressed a desire to stop offending. When asked what factors would be important in their rehabilitation, most stressed the importance of having a job, somewhere to live, and support on release.
At Myrtos Consultancy, we help employers unlock the potential of inclusive hiring by supporting people with convictions into meaningful work. If you're ready to challenge stigma, boost your social impact, and discover the value of second chances, let’s start the conversation. Together, we can turn purpose into practice.