Ecclesfield Safer Neighbourhood Teams are leading the way since the introduction of Community Justice Panels, having made over one hundred referrals since the scheme commenced in 2009. This includes over 35 referrals so far this year.
The Panels are part of the Restorative Justice initiative and are designed to tackle crime and ASB by engaging with the offender and allowing them to face up to the consequences of their behaviour as well as having a face to face meeting with their victims. The Panels encourage the offender to acknowledge the impact of what they have done and make amends to the victim and community by both apologising and undertaking any reparation work, which is agreed at the Panel. The Panels are run by volunteers from the community who are trained to facilitate the meetings and agree the best possible outcome.
As well as providing a good opportunity for the victim to give their views to the victim, Community Justice Panels provide an alternative to criminalising those who commit relatively minor and isolated offences. This is particularly important when dealing with juveniles.
An excellent example of how the scheme works is illustrated by an incident dealt with by PCSO Adam Hodgkinson. Adam caught a young person setting fire to some conifers in the Burncross area and quickly established that they had not been in trouble with the police before. The CJP process was explained to them and their parents, and was agreed as the most beneficial way forward by the victim. The Panel took place and involved a representative from the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service. The result was that the young person wrote a full apology to the victim and agreed to pay for the damage caused out of their birthday money. Due to the positive impact made on the young person by the attending Fire Officer, they enrolled in the Young Fire-Fighters Scheme and became a regular attender. Trevor Bernard, the Fire Station Manager at Elm Lane Fire Station who attended the Panel said the young person "is an asset to the course and to the fire service".
The Community Justice Panels are being used by Sheffield City Council, Registered Social Landlords and many other agencies in partnership with each other or as individual agences. They are often a useful means of resolving minor disputes in many different sets of circumstances.
If you wish to know more about Community Justice Panels or have a specific enquiry, please contact the team by email; ecclesfieldsna@southyorks.pnn.police.uk