Communities Fighting Crime In Nottingham

A group of residents in Nottingham, who are working alongside the council and the police to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour, watched offenders doing Community Payback as part of a visit by the Crime and Justice adviser, Louise Casey.

The group visited the former Eastglade primary school which had suffered from fly-tipping and graffiti.

Offenders a the site carry out work in high visibility orange jackets to show the public that there are consequences to breaking the law and to demonstrate that justice is being done.

This coincides with Nottingham's latest 'Week of Action' which is taking place in the Top Valley area of the city. This is the 23rd Week of Action to take place in the city since the programme began in 2006.

The aim of these community-led weeks is to make areas cleaner, greener, safer and healthier for all.

As one of the Home Office's 60 Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Pioneer Areas, Nottingham is receiving £130,000 over the next two years for funding towards a new Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Co-ordinator who will work with the police and criminal justice system to ensure that the public will have a greater voice in the way their community's streets are policed, there is more information available about the public's rights on crime and justice and there is better support for victims and witnesses.

Louise Casey said: "Community Payback clearly demonstrates that the Government is taking the views of the public seriously. It is a step towards building greater public confidence in the criminal justice system, showing it is on their side rather than on the side of the offender.

"The Community Payback has been an invaluable addition to this Week of Action, and has given us the capacity to undertake projects identified by the community to improve their local neighbourhood. The facility to visibly make amends to the law abiding public has been very well received and we look forward to doing a lot more work with Probation, and our Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Co-ordinator in the future."

Some members of the group also attended a Community Crime Fighters (CCF) training event hosted by Ms Casey.

The CCF scheme sees volunteers given free training by the Home Office to ensure they know exactly what the authorities such as police, council and criminal justice system should be delivering on crime and justice and give them the ability and confidence to challenge them when they are not getting the right service.

(JM/BMcC)