Community Justice arrives in Eccles
28 Jul 2005
As well as focusing on community aspects of sentences for offenders, the CJI will also consider how it can support local regeneration projects and schemes that divert young people away from crime. The CJI will also deal with applications for anti-social behaviour (ASB) orders from across the city from the outset, ensuring a joined-up approach to problems of ASB throughout the city.
The Initiative will bring agencies closer together, ensuring victims, witnesses and the community benefit from increased availability of information and help with accessing local services. The initiative will reach out to the community through activities such as public meetings, school workshops and community consultation events, to ensure that local people have a voice within their justice system. Local people will be asked what types of crimes and safety issues cause them greatest concern, and the work of the court will be prioritised to meet those concerns.
The court will sit as both a Magistrates' and a Youth Court and cases will be heard by a team of specially trained Magistrates. Offenders will be challenged to face the consequences of their actions and to make visible, valuable reparation to the community. Local people will be able to suggest tasks to be done by offenders on unpaid work. The court will work together with local agencies to provide support to tackle the underlying causes of offending behaviour. The team of Magistrates will closely monitor offenders' progress in order to tackle failure but also to celebrate success.
Eccles has been chosen following an assessment to see which area would most benefit from a community justice initiative and in response to local concerns about anti-social behaviour issues. This will be widened in the future to include other areas of the city.
Richard Knott, Area Director for the Her Majesty's Court Service, said:
"This initiative is about community justice, making sure that people in Eccles have a say about what problems there are in their area and how the Community Justice can serve them best.
"Too many people suffer from anti-social behaviour which impacts on the quality of their daily lives. Having a truly local and visible justice system will give people far more confidence that justice is being done in Eccles."
Community Justice Minister Harriet Harman said:
"Too often people think that the criminal justice system doesn't recognise the real problems that crime causes in the community. We will change this in Eccles by listening to local people and delivering justice in a way that responds to their needs. I am excited about this work and am giving it my full support."