Cockle Picker Crimefighters Scoop Top Justice Award
24 Nov 2006
The Lancashire Police-led team of agencies won the trust of frightened and traumatised witnesses whose families in China were being threatened by trafficking gangs.
After a massive 2 year investigation producing over 1.5 million documents, and a six month trial presented using the latest IT equipment and hearing from nearly 150 witnesses, the gangmaster was convicted on 21 counts of manslaughter in March this year.
Other winners across the 14 categories in the Justice Awards include:
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David Aldridge, an ex-offender and drug user, for his work as a volunteer in the probation service helping others overcome their drug dependency
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The Pier Project in Merseyside whose targeting of persistent offenders in the Wirral cut burglary by 57% and vehicle crime by 56% in two years.
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Bob Brooks, a manager at Preston Crown Court and logistical brains behind several high profile trials including the James Bulger case, the Harold Shipman trial and the Morecombe Bay case.
All the winners, chosen from over 650 nominations, were presented with their award today at a prestigious ceremony in London, hosted by broadcaster and journalist Fiona Bruce who said:
"I am delighted to be hosting the Justice Awards again this year. Last year, I found it so rewarding to meet the finalists and winners - people who are actually making a real difference in people's lives. A lot of what they do is so thankless. Most people who come into contact with the Criminal Justice System do so involuntarily, making it even harder for people to do their jobs, and can result in negative news about the system.
"But that makes the achievements of the award winners even more impressive. It's great to be involved in giving them their moment in the sun. I certainly don't have it in me, so meeting them is an inspiration!"
The winners received their awards from Baroness Scotland, Home Office minister for Criminal Justice and Offender Management.
Baroness Scotland said:
"I have been moved and impressed by the dedication that staff and volunteers nominated for these awards have shown towards people who come into contact with the Criminal Justice System.
"The awards show that agencies and individuals across the country have gone that extra mile to protect communities from crime, deal compassionately with victims and witnesses, and address offenders' behaviour to try and prevent re-offending.
"These awards prove not only that people within the Criminal Justice System are working hard and achieving measurable results, but all parts of our community have a roll to play in our alliance to create a fair and effective system we all want to see."
The full list of winners is as follows:
Justice Shield
Operation Lund and the Force Major Investigation Team (FMIT), Lancashire
Operation Lund was the multi-agency team which conducted the immensely complex investigation and managed the prosecution process for the Morecambe Bay cockle-picking tragedy in February 2004, in which 23 people died.
The police worked with, amongst others, the CPS, courts, the witness service, health and safety teams, coastguards, DEFRA, immigration services, Interpol and the Chinese Embassy.
This combines two nominations – one for Operation Lund and another for the FMIT which was initially submitted in the team witnesses category (9).
At the trial, innovative IT was developed to help make the case more understandable for the jury with location footage, exhibits, photos, video and audio recordings being transmitted to the court with split screen translation to overcome language barriers.
Court and police staff also arranged facilities for media conferencing and for jury visits to the scene of the tragedy. Police and the CPS worked closely together to bring vast quantities of complicated evidence (1.5 million pages of documentation) to court along with frightened and bemused witnesses.
The FMIT worked specifically on tracking down the 11 survivors who disappeared in the aftermath of the tragedy, fearing reprisals from gang-masters, Snakehead and Triad gangs and the threat of deportation. Having tracked down a number of witnesses through working with the Chinese community in London, the team then managed to take vital witness statements which led to multiple convictions for manslaughter and immigration offences.
Category 1: Outstanding achievement in caring for victims (individual)
Owen Lawrence, Victim Support volunteer, Leicestershire
After his retirement as a police officer in 1999, Owen has been a tireless volunteer at the Marlene Reid Centre in Leicester, assisting on numerous, often major criminal investigations. He has been commended for the considerable support he gives to victims of crime, offering help and counselling to those affected by crime throughout the criminal justice process. Owen is trained to assist victims and their families of a range of offences including armed robbery, serious sexual assault and fatal road traffic collisions.
Category 2: Outstanding achievement in caring for witnesses (individual)
Jan Howell, volunteer, Young Witness Service, Greater Manchester
Jan is a volunteer who provides the dedicated and personal touch that young witnesses who are difficult, or have difficulties, need to come to court and give evidence. From hyperactive infants to sulky teenagers, she reaches young people by giving them personal attention and specific individual support to match their needs. She is keen to empower reluctant witnesses to take control of situations they did not ask to be involved in.
Jan is an unpaid ambassador for the CJS who is keen to spread confidence that crime is reducing. When court decisions seem disappointing to those involved, she puts herself in the front line to explain to witnesses what has happened and why.
Category 3: Outstanding contribution to tackling youth crime (individual)
Richard Allen, Youth Services Officer, West Yorkshire Police
PC Allen is behind a wealth of projects in the Kirklees area, all connected with improving self-esteem for young people and encouraging positive behaviour. Whether it's drugs education for Islamic young people, teaching road traffic law to those who want to become drivers, or promoting the dangers of alcohol misuse, he ensures young people in Kirklees are getting good information and good messages that encourage them away from anti-social behaviour.
His anti-robbery campaign across 10 schools this year saw school crime reduce by 80 per cent. And he has got young people interested in the Criminal Justice System by organising 42 weeks of work placements for young people across the range of justice agencies.
Category 4: Outstanding contribution to working with offenders (individual)
David Aldridge, volunteer mentor, National Probation Service, Staffordshire
David has an amazing personal story to tell; he was once an offender and drug user but successfully completed a probation order and decided he wanted to help others overcome their drug dependency and offending behaviour, as he had. He has worked as a volunteer for nearly three years, sharing his experiences and motivating others when they are at, or beyond, the point of relapsing into drug use.
On a practical level, David works in a multi-agency environment, encouraging around 20 offenders at any one time to take up training and to improve their health by registering with a doctor and dentist.
David is an outstanding ambassador for the activities of the probation service as well as for volunteering and mentoring. He has spoken at a wide variety of events and addressed judges, probation staff, civil servants and the public, painting a picture of what the true impact of drug addiction can be on young people's lives and also convincing them that something positive can be done.
Category 5: Outstanding contribution to engaging communities (individual)
Peter Ernest, unpaid work supervisor, National Probation Service, Avon & Somerset
Peter Ernest works with offenders trying to put something back into the community of Taunton. He has been instrumental in setting up the Taunton Town Centre Partnership, which includes the police and the local council, to increase community safety and reduce crime in the town centre. Thanks to Peter's involvement, which often requires him to give up much of his spare time, vandalism and graffiti are at an all time low since the partnership began.
Peter plans work for offenders, such as cleaning graffiti, repairing benches and maintaining flowerbeds. In addition to the benefit to their surroundings, the people of Taunton are able to see justice in action, and the partnership also allows offenders to communicate with the public, raising awareness of crime and its effects and learning the importance of consideration for others. There have been numerous letters and messages of thanks from the community, and through Peter's expertise and leadership, the partnership has helped other communities in Somerset and two new further schemes have been established.
Category 6: Outstanding commitment to diversity (individual)
Nigel Hallam, Justice's Clerk, HM Courts Service, Derbyshire
Nigel has worked tirelessly to improve black and minority ethnic (BME) representation on magistrates' benches across Derbyshire. His commitment to the Magistrates Shadowing Scheme has seen the percentage of BME magistrates rise to a level which reflects the make-up of local communities. Having provided a role model to people who have come through shadowing and entered the magistracy, he has encouraged them in turn to become role models themselves and the numbers of BME applicants continues to rise.
Nigel has gone this extra mile while still managing to successfully carry out his role as a busy justice's clerk. He has taken the skills, knowledge, experience and dedication that all clerks need in order to carry out their role so effectively; and applied it all to driving up the BME communities' confidence in the local Criminal Justice System.
Category 7: Long service award for continued commitment and dedication (individual)
Robert Michael Brooks, Facilities Manager, Preston Combined Court, Lancashire
Bob Brooks has worked in courts in Lancashire for nearly 40 years. During this time, he has been the brains behind several high profile trials, including the James Bulger case, the trial of Harold Shipman and the Morecambe Bay cocklepickers case.
The challenges of each trial are different. In the cockle picker case, Bob not only had to create a special media annex at the court but also arrange for the construction of sound booths for a relay team of Mandarin interpreters. Prior to the Shipman trial, Bob had the sensitive task of arranging dozens of familiarisation visits to court for the relatives of the victims, who thanked him many times over.
On top of all this, he has also been instrumental in bringing the Criminal Justice System closer to the people by organising school mock trial competitions, open days and judicial receptions. For twenty years he has organised Preston's annual judges' church service which brings together the local community and the local Criminal Justice System.
Category 8: outstanding achievement in caring for victims (team)
Sal's Place Implementation Team, Domestic Violence Project, Lancashire
Sal's Place has been set up in partnership with various criminal justice agencies and other organisations to provide a one-stop family justice facility. They aim to provide a fair and consistent service for people suffering from domestic abuse, after identifying that the rate for reported domestic abuse was higher in the Lancaster and Morecambe area than in the rest of Lancashire. Sal's Place integrates services available for domestic violence sufferers, increases public confidence, improves and clarifies referrals between agencies, and increases the number of convictions.
The project has also been instrumental in bringing organisations together to improve services. This has been the first time that the local branch of Women's Aid and the police have worked side by side. At present the project has supported over 200 victims, and has helped many more through telephone advice. The community now knows that there is a place available for them, and that domestic abuse no longer has to be a "silent" crime.
Category 9: Outstanding achievement in caring for witnesses (team)
Young Witness Service, Victim Support, Nottinghamshire
The Service's workload has tripled in two years with nearly 200 young witnesses receiving their support in the last year. But their feedback still shows almost all of them praising the service for making them feel better about giving evidence. The two staff and 30 volunteers visit young witnesses at home and show them the court before they give evidence and that support continues through and after trial.
The YWS has worked closely alongside domestic violence specialist courts to support children affected by abuse. They give bespoke support to young people with disabilities or learning difficulties. To ensure their diverse community is reflected in their volunteer base, they joined forces with Victim Support this year in a recruitment campaign aimed specifically at the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Category 10: Outstanding contribution to tackling youth crime (team)
Swansea Youth Offending Team, South Wales
The Team has delivered excellent results in reducing youth crime by dealing not just with offenders but also with the many young people at risk of becoming offenders. Their knowledge and experience is an invaluable resource for the police in tackling youth crime, and their commitment to restorative justice helps offenders to appreciate the misery they may have caused to others. They run an extensive programme of positive prevention activities with other agencies, which gets youths interested in learning and teamwork rather than hanging around with nothing to do.
Their work is continuously evaluated and updated and they can claim their part in contributing to total offences in the area falling by a quarter, while persistent offender numbers have dropped by a half.
Category 11: Outstanding contribution to working with offenders (team)
The Pier Project, Merseyside Police
The Pier Project is a multi-agency team including police and probation officers, who are responsible for monitoring and supervising members of the community who have been identified as Prolific and other Priority Offenders (PPO). These are usually chaotic drug users who commit crime to fund drug addictions. Members of the team are able to assist offenders in gaining basic skills, help arrange accommodation and provide training for job interviews.
The project has led to a significant reduction in the types of acquisitive crime which these offenders commit – in the Wirral area, burglary fell from 217 offences in February 2004 to 93 in February 2006 and vehicle crime fell from 201 to 89 offences in the same period.
The team are also keen to stress that when PPOs do re-offend, they are targeted and swiftly dealt with through the Criminal Justice System.
Category 12: Outstanding contribution to engaging local communities (team)
Hampshire and Thames Valley Circles of Support and Accountability Team
The team recruits, screens and trains volunteers to provide a support network for high-risk sex offenders living in the community. Volunteers hold the offender accountable, enhancing public protection by providing the local criminal justice agencies with vital information regarding behaviour when determining whether they are at risk.
What is innovative about the team is their commitment to providing support to the offenders as well, helping them with matters such as accommodation, employment, education and contact with their own families. A team comprising of five dedicated professionals supported by over thirty volunteers, the project has an amazing success rate: none of the offenders they have dealt with to date has re-offended.
Category 13: Outstanding commitment to diversity (team)
Black Mentoring Scheme, National Probation Service, Merseyside
The scheme mentors black and minority ethnic offenders to help them complete their court orders successfully and ensure that the programmes set for them really do work. The types of support they give seems endless – child care, finance, training, education, accommodation, counselling, translating and resolving immigration issues are just some of the wide range of topics they cover.
They aim for offenders to not only complete their court orders, but to do it feeling confident and motivated. As a measure of the success of their work, they can point to the percentage of local court orders breached being only about a third of the national average.
Category 14: Partnership of the year: best example of joint work across the CJS (team)
The Vale Royal Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP), Cheshire
The partnership works to promote safer communities and consists of staff from Cheshire Constabulary, the probation service, the Youth Offending Team, the borough council, the county council, the fire service, the Primary Care Trust and a local housing trust.
The wide range of initiatives the partnership has instigated, such as Home Watch, Pub Watch, Shop Watch and Travel Safe have brought about great results: burglaries in the home and vehicle crime are the lowest they have been for three years and violent crime has been falling.
The partnership works with a local charity to help make the homes of vulnerable people more secure – thus reducing the fear of crime which so many older people experience. The scheme now also extends to protecting victims of hate crimes and domestic violence.
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For further information, to set up interviews with winners, or to receive photographs of the winners and the event, in the first instance please contact:
Elizabeth Grey
Home Office Press Office
Tel: 020 7035 3847
Elizabeth.grey5@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk