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Sixty areas across the country have signed up to become new neighbourhood crime and justice pioneer areas Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced today, Halton being one of them, alongside Liverpool, Knowsley & St Helens.
Delivering a key recommendation of the Casey Review, and supported by £5.6 million, the new pioneer areas will each appoint a dedicated person - a Neighbourhood Crime and Justice (NCJ) Co-ordinator to ensure that Community Payback in the local community is visible and tough, that victims of crime are supported to reduce re-offending and that the public know the rights that the new national ‘Policing Pledge’ gives them.
Cllr Marie Wright, Safer Halton Partnership portfolio holder said “I really agree with this approach to restorative justice and am pleased that Halton is able to lead the way locally. Working in partnership with the Police and other service providers is so important in being able to ensure that this type of approach is successful and that the community can see that those who do wrong are punished for it.”
The new coordinators will be a powerful force to take forward the radical vision set out in the Casey Review and Policing Green Paper to give the public a greater say in the way their streets are policed and how offenders are dealt with. The new coordinators will work to:
• Let the public know their entitlement in the new Policing Pledge so that they know their rights, know who their neighbourhood policing team are, how they can hold them to account and the minimum level of service they should expect
• Open up the Criminal Justice System so that there are clear and public consequences for criminals that the public get to know about, including more visible Community Payback
• Ensure that services and support for victims and witnesses like separate seating arrangements at court are up to scratch.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said –
“The public have told us that they want from policing and the justice system – services that listen and act on their priorities. But sometimes the criminal justice system can feel remote and appear more interested in supporting offenders than punishing them or protecting communities. We are determined to take action on this across Government.
“I am grateful to Halton Borough Council and the Safer Halton Partnership for signing up to take action to open up the criminal justice system so that the public can see the tough consequences for those that break the law and also driving forward the action needed so that the public know what their rights are from the police and other agencies when they are suffering crime and anti-social behaviour. The new neighbourhood crime and justice coordinators will be a dedicated resource to act on the public’s behalf to make sure that justice is done and seen to be done in their local communities.”
Mike Andrews, Safer Halton Partnership’s Community Safety Manager, commented “This is a fantastic opportunity for the borough of Halton and for the Safer Halton Partnership to work so closely with the community, it is also key that those who have committed a crime are made to ‘payback’ in the community in which they have offended, so we are delighted to be involved with this pioneering scheme”.
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