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JET SET FOR JUSTICE
Wednesday 11 July 2007
· Employment and training advice available in court
· New Job Café at North Liverpool Community Justice Centre
· Residents and offenders to benefit from holistic advice
A JOB Café is up and running at North Liverpool Community Justice Centre to help local residents and minor offenders into work.
The café run by the council-funded Jobs Employment and Training Service (JET) is open every Monday from 10am till 4pm allowing local residents or people passing through the centre to discuss jobs or training opportunities with specialist advisors over a brew.
Councillor Marilyn Fielding, Liverpool's executive member for neighbourhood services said: "I'm delighted this valuable community service will be able to help local residents find out about the many training and employment opportunities available in the city."
Employment experts will help people popping in, assisted by the Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB) the city council's Youth Offending Team and the Probation Service.
Elaine Saunders, JET manager, said: "We're very excited to have opened this new facility in one of Liverpool's most deprived areas. We're extremely grateful to the Community Justice Centre for making room for us and will be working closely with them to engage people going through the justice centre as well as the wider community."
The café is the second to be opened by the JET team who run another one in Breckfield every Tuesday which has proved a big hit with residents.
Judge David Fletcher of the Community Justice Centre said: "Due to their lack of literacy and numeracy skills, many offenders find it particularly difficult to find work. The specialist advice and support they can access at the job café will help them overcome these barriers and make a positive contribution to their communities."
The employment agencies providing excellent advice include; Reed, MAATWERK, Step Closer 2 Work, Suretrust and Pelcombe.
BACK TO SCHOOL FOR CENTRE LAWYERS
23rd November 2006
The Community Justice Centre, North Liverpool, is launching a 'lawyer twinning' project with local schools as part of Inside Justice Week (18th to 25th November, 2006).
The centre, based in Boundary Street, Kirkdale, will welcome sixth form pupils from Notre Dame Catholic College in Everton, on Friday 24th November, as the first law students to benefit from the project.
The project will see lawyers from the centre's team twinned with local schools in a scheme, which is aimed at helping students with their legal studies.
Lawyers from the centre's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) team and the Legal Advisor to the centre's court will work with pupils on a regular basis to share their experiences of the legal system and provide guidance and support, in schools and at the centre. The students will also take part in a work placement scheme, including a job-shadowing programme. Members of the centre's wider team, such as probation officers and the youth offending team, will also get involved to share their experiences.
Ursula Doyle, leader of the centre's Crown Prosecution Service team said: The centre is the only one of its kind in England and Wales and is pioneering community justice. For many students, this means they have one of the most innovative projects in the legal system on their doorstep, so we want to share our experiences with them and give them the opportunity to learn about how the centre uses a different approach to tackle crime and its causes.
One of the many innovative approaches pioneered by the centre is restorative justice, which brings together victims with offenders, through a method called conferencing. It aims to help offenders explain their actions, understand the harm they have done to their victim and the community, and give them an opportunity to make amends.
At the same time, it offers victims the chance to have their voice heard, so that the offender understands the effect of their actions. The pupils at Notre Dame will learn about this approach to resolving disputes as part of their studies.
During their visit to the centre, pupils will role-play in a mock sentencing event, with the centre's Judge, David Fletcher, to learn about the court process and the benefits of the centre's unique problem solving approach, which aims to help address the causes of offending behaviour.
The centre is the only one of its kind in England and Wales and is a pilot project aimed at bringing justice closer to the community by tackling crimes and anti-social behaviour-type offences that affect the quality of life for residents in the local authority wards of Anfield, County, Everton and Kirkdale. It houses a courtroom with a wide range of community services available to local people, victims and witnesses, as well as offenders.
Inside Justice Week is a weeklong event aimed at giving local people the chance to learn more about the Criminal Justice System in Merseyside and is part of a national programme.
CELEBRATING ONE YEAR ON
1st November 2006
The Community Justice Centre, North Liverpool, is celebrating one year on after opening its doors at its base in Boundary Street, Kirkdale.
The centre was officially opened by the Department for Constitutional Affairs Minister Harriet Harman, in October 2005. Figures show that from the beginning of January 2006 to the end of August this year, the centre dealt with over 1500 cases and ordered over 3,200 hours of unpaid work as part of community sentences.
Some of the year's highlights include the following:
Justice:
· The centre has opened a second courtroom, with volunteer magistrates handling trial cases each Monday and Wednesday afternoon.
· In May 2006, the centre became a pilot review court, one of only two in England and Wales. New powers under Section 178 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 mean that Judge Fletcher is able to bring offenders back to court to check they are carrying out their community sentences properly. The centre has made 70 review orders since the powers were introduced.
· The Community Justice Centre has established a community reparation programme, which aims to make sure offenders sentenced to unpaid work as part of a community order, carry out tasks which benefit local people and their neighbourhoods.
· Developed with the centre's Probation Service and Youth Offending teams, the programme sees both adult and young offenders carrying out their unpaid work orders in areas identified by the community, where their input will have the most benefit for local people.
Projects include a recent campaign to clean up the grounds of St Sylvester's Church in Silvester Street, Vauxhall, the development of a children's nature trail at a local neighbourhood centre and an initiative to improve the Leeds Liverpool canal and its surroundings at Vauxhall, to make the area more pleasant for local people.
· In April this year, Judge Fletcher used a new power to impose an Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR), as part of a community order, for the first time. The order aims to make sure offenders tackle their alcohol problems that often add to their offending or re-offending behaviour. Between April and August 2006, Judge Fletcher had ordered a total of 27 offenders to complete an ATR, with early signs showing that re-offending levels are low and over three quarters of offenders are carrying out their orders as directed.
· Following a huge response to its call for volunteers for its mentoring programme, 'Side by Side', the centre now has 25 people trained and working with offenders and their families.
· The centre's Victim Support and Witness Service has recruited 10 witness support volunteers to give emotional support and practical information to people attending court.
Community:
· The centre's Community Resource team, which provides a wide range of services to the community, has expanded, recruiting an additional advisor for its Citizens Advice service to meet demand. Among its successes, up until August 2006, the service helped more than 70 people deal with debt problems and successfully challenged nearly £5,000 worth of debts on behalf of its clients.
· The team's housing advisor, seconded by Liverpool Housing Trust (LHT), has seen an increase in enquiries from members of the local community and has helped residents with issues including accessing accommodation, rent arrears, evictions, disrepair and landlord relations. The advisor also works with offenders going through the court system to address any housing issues which may be affecting their offending behaviour.
· The centre has worked with partners to support the 'Your Choice' programme, which involves 800 pupils from 18 schools across North Liverpool. The programme teaches young people about the effect of anti-social behaviour and the consequences of getting involved in it. Children learn about issues such as hoax calls to the emergency services, trespassing on rail tracks and the effects of vandalism in their neighbourhoods.
· Community engagement activity during the year has seen the centre working in partnership with a wide number of agencies, including Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, Positive Futures, The Streets Project and the local neighbourhood councils, to provide diversionary and educational activities, particularly for young people.
· During the summer months the centre worked with 11 different partners to provide more than 30,000 hours of activities to over 500 young people. These projects are designed to divert young people from offending in the community and promote social inclusion.
ROCK SCHOOL APPEAL FOR INSTRUMENTS
1st November 2006
Young people and police officers from North Liverpool are appealing for instruments to help them create a band as part of a 'Rock School' project being pioneered by police officers in the area.
Officers have been providing tuition for young people from across the area in their spare time, teaching them to play acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, drums and bass guitar. They are also being taught mixing skills on turntable decks.
Sergeant Chris Lynch, head of the proactive security force at the Community Justice Centre, North Liverpool, which supports a wide range of diversionary projects with young people across the area said: We are currently working towards our first public performance and are appealing to musicians, schools, music shops or anyone who may have any spare instruments to donate them to our 'Rock School'.
"We want to teach young people a skill that they can really get into, while learning some valuable life lessons. If they want to succeed they have to be very dedicated, spend time rehearsing and work as a team with their fellow band members. We are already seeing some real talent and we are looking forward to selecting the final line up of our band.
If you have an instrument you would like to donate to the Rock School or are a young person interested in joining, please telephone the Community Justice Centre on 0151 298 3617. Instruments can be collected.
MEET THE JUDGE
16th October 2006
Judge David Fletcher and the team from the Community Justice Centre, North Liverpool will be taking to the road to report on its progress and find out about the issues that affect the lives of people in North Liverpool.
A series of 'Meet the Judge' events will take place in seven venues across the neighbourhoods of Anfield, Breckfield, the Eldonian Village, Everton, Kirkdale, Vauxhall and Walton, during November and December.
Since the centre opened, it has developed a wide range of services for all members of the community. These events will see the team providing advice and support on any problems or issues relating to crime and quality of life in the area. They will also provide information on how the Community Justice Centre works and give residents the chance to have their say, ask questions and make suggestions.
Judge Fletcher said: We are looking forward to meeting residents from across all the neighbourhoods we serve, taking their views on board and hopefully helping them with any issues they may be facing.
For further information about the Meet the Judge events contact the Community Justice Centre on 0151 298 3600.
COMMUNITY JUSTICE CENTRE TAKES TO THE ROAD
9th August 2006
Residents across North Liverpool are being offered the chance to find out more about the area's Community Justice Centre and share their concerns about crimes that affect their lives, at a series of community surgeries organised by the centre's team.
Events have been organised across the neighbourhoods of Anfield, Breckfield, the Eldonian Village, Everton, Kirkdale, Vauxhall and Walton, beginning at Portland Gardens in Vauxhall on 16 August and finishing at the New Century Halls Community Facility in Walton on 14 September.
Each event will last for two hours and local people will be able to meet the centre's Community Resource team. Members of the team will provide advice and support on any problems or issues they have relating to crime and quality of life in their neighbourhood.
The surgeries will also provide information on how the Community Justice Centre works and invite ideas on how offenders can improve the area through unpaid work tasks.
Joan Porter, community engagement officer for the Community Justice Centre said: One of the centre's main aims is to reduce crime that affects the quality of life for local people. While we have a range of services available at the centre, we are keen to get out and about in the community and help to resolve any issues that local residents are facing.
The Community Justice Centre, North Liverpool, is based on Boundary Street, Kirkdale. As well as housing a courtroom that deals with crimes committed in the North Liverpool area, the centre houses a range of services, including help with legal matters, housing advice, drug and alcohol support and assistance with anti-social behaviour issues. These services are available to victims of crime, witnesses and offenders as well as local residents.
For further information on the times and dates of community surgeries, contact the Community Justice Centre team on 0151 298 3600.
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