This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
First community justice centre
26/03/2007
Scotland's first community justice centre and community court - bringing together all relevant criminal justice services together under one roof - is to be set up in Glasgow.
It will be a focal point for improving justice services, speeding up court processes and strengthening the court's relationship with the local community. It will dispense swift, effective and innovative community sentences to offenders to help restore harm caused by their offending. But as well as punishing them, it will provide the support such as access to housing, addictions, employment and mental health services, to ensure they move on to a life free of crime.
For example, an offender may be required to undertake unpaid work on a supervised community scheme, attend a drug rehabilitation course and receive help to address debt problems.
The centre will be led by a single judge whose role will include engaging with the community to discuss local crime issues and how the centre is helping to address these, particularly how those sentenced there can pay back to the community through work schemes.
The project - which involves the Executive, Glasgow City Council, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the judiciary, and the community - is expected to deal with around 2,000 cases a year and be up and running in 2009.
The Council is working to identify suitable sites. Its priority is to ensure communities are consulted on the centre and its location, as community involvement will be vital to its success. The final cost will depend whether a refurbished or new building is required but is estimated to be £5-7 million for set-up, including the building, and a further £1.5-£2 million a year in running costs. The Executive and City Council will further discuss funding of the project, once a site has been identified.
Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said:
"Crime in Scotland is falling. However, we also know that persistent offenders - even where small in number - can drag a whole community down. The community justice centre, through its unique problem-solving approach, will help us take a further step towards tackling that.
"It will be based in a local community and serve that community, addressing concerns about crime and antisocial behaviour. It will punish offenders for their behaviour, but it will also ensure they pay back to their community for the consequences of their actions. Swift, visible justice - often through supervised work schemes which will provide environmental and other benefits to the community.
"It will also provide a range of support services to tackle the root causes of an offender's behaviour - through drug and alcohol treatment or help with debt and housing problems. Smart options, not soft options - the kind of approaches which I have already seen delivering real results for people in New York.
"Central to its work will be the role of the judge who will need to be a 'people's judge' in every sense if this bold initiative is to achieve what we all want.
"The law abiding public want to see crime falling, and offenders being punished. Through our actions - including the creation of Scotland's first community justice centre - we are demonstrating that we are on their side."
Councillor Steven Purcell, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said:
"This centre will help tackle the kind of crime that people sadly encounter all too often in their every day lives. Vandalism, breach of the peace, minor assaults and house breaking not only impact on individuals but also drain the morale of communities in general.
"If we get to grips with the offenders responsible for these problems, we can improve the quality of life for all. People want to see justice being done but they also want effective deterrents against reoffending as well as help for culprits so they can move on from offending.
"By creating a Community Justice Centre we aim to meet the demands of the community by delivering effective and realistic justice for that community."
The Lord Advocate, Elish Angiolini, said:
"The justice system is at its best when it listens and responds to the needs of local communities, and has a good understanding of local issues. This court will be at the heart of the community, delivering justice that is swift, visible and informed by a thorough understanding of the offender's background and of the impact of the offence in the wider community.
"I am delighted that Procurators Fiscal are involved in the development of this important initiative. The prosecution service is determined to play a full role in the delivery of a justice system that meets the needs of the people it serves, and builds the confidence of local communities.
"This court will be able to address problems with innovative solutions, drawing on the expertise and resources of all agencies. It will ensure offenders are punished as appropriate, but that they also have the opportunity to repair the damage their offending behaviour has caused to the community and to themselves."
Background:
There are a number of community justice centres-community courts already in operation, including Midtown and Red Hook in New York and in North Liverpool. The project team members have studied research on these courts, met the judge from Red Hook and visited North Liverpool. The Justice Minister also visited Midtown Community Court in New York in 2004.
The Glasgow centre will be based on both these but adapted to suit the needs of the Scottish criminal justice system and local community.
Its main aim will be to deal quickly and effectively with criminal incidents and antisocial behaviour which affect the local community such as vandalism, breach of the peace, minor assault, house breaking, vehicle crime and some drugs cases (although drugs cases will continue to be referred to the Glasgow drugs court).
It will be for the Procurator Fiscal to determine which cases go to the CJC. While the Midtown, Red Hook and Liverpool projects only deal with cases once the accused has pled guilty, it is our intention for the CJC to deal with as many local cases as possible, whether the accused pleads guilty or not.
The judge will have the sentencing powers available to a Stipendiary Magistrate or a sheriff, including fine, imprisonment, probation, compensation order, restriction of liberty order, or deferred sentence. However, a key feature will be that wherever appropriate, the sentence imposed should involve a package of measures designed to make the offender pay back to the community for their crimes and tackle the underlying problems which led to their offending.
Once sentenced, individuals will be expected to appear back before the judge every two to three weeks to check on progress.
The judge will play a key role in community engagement. This is likely to include getting involved in community events to explain the CJC's work and feed back to the community what the CJC has done, developing networks through agencies based within the CJC to ensure he/she is kept informed about local concerns and priorities, engaging with community representative groups and engaging directly with offenders' partners/family members regarding the impact of the offender's behaviour.
In turn, the community will be closely involved in the work of the CJC and will be encouraged to bring issues to the attention of the judge and to have a strong input into what community programmes and work schemes they want to see put in place for the benefit of their area.