Immediate Justice passes 2,000 referrals
Nottinghamshire’s Immediate Justice programme has reached a major milestone after more than 2,000 people have now been referred into the scheme, helping offenders repair the harm they’ve caused while making communities cleaner, safer and stronger.
As Antisocial Behaviour Awareness Week shines a spotlight on the impact antisocial behaviour has on victims and neighbourhoods across the country, the milestone marks another significant step forward for a programme that is not only delivering swift justice but helping restore public confidence in the criminal justice system.
Launched as part of the previous Government’s response to antisocial behaviour, Immediate Justice ensures people who commit lower-level offences face visible consequences for their actions, carrying out reparative work in the communities affected alongside educational interventions designed to tackle the causes of offending and reduce the likelihood of future crime.
Across Nottinghamshire, participants have spent thousands of hours removing graffiti, litter picking, cleaning public spaces, restoring community facilities and carrying out environmental improvements identified by residents, businesses and partner organisations.
Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Gary Godden, said: "Reaching 2,000 referrals is a fantastic milestone and demonstrates just how far Immediate Justice has come since it was first introduced in Nottinghamshire.
“For too long, people have felt that lower-level crime and antisocial behaviour often goes unchecked, leaving communities frustrated and victims feeling ignored. Immediate Justice changes that by ensuring offenders are held accountable quickly, visibly and in the very communities affected by their actions.
“This programme is about far more than simply cleaning graffiti or picking litter. It is about rebuilding pride in our neighbourhoods, restoring confidence in the justice system and giving offenders the opportunity to understand the impact of their behaviour while helping prevent them from reoffending.
“The independent evidence now speaks for itself. More people are aware of the scheme, more people are seeing the work taking place, communities are feeling safer and repeat offending is significantly lower amongst those who complete the programme."
Through the Immediate Justice Nottinghamshire website, members of the public can also report areas affected by antisocial behaviour that would benefit from reparative work, helping ensure the programme directly addresses issues that matter most to local communities.
PCC Godden added: "During AntiSocial Behaviour Awareness Week I’d encourage anyone who spots environmental issues linked to antisocial behaviour in their community to report them through our Immediate Justice website.
"Together we can continue making Nottinghamshire’s towns, villages and neighbourhoods cleaner, safer and more welcoming places to live.”
The milestone comes as independent evaluation continues to demonstrate the positive impact Immediate Justice is having across Nottinghamshire.
Research commissioned by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner found that awareness of the scheme has almost tripled since the first public survey, increasing from fewer than one in ten residents to more than a quarter of those surveyed.
Almost half of respondents also said they had personally noticed Immediate Justice activity or other visible interventions taking place within their local communities, demonstrating the growing presence of the programme across Nottinghamshire.
Perhaps most importantly, the visibility of the programme is helping improve public confidence. Nearly two-thirds of people who had witnessed Immediate Justice activity said it made them feel safer in their local area, while not a single respondent reported feeling less safe after seeing offenders carrying out reparative work.
Areas including St Ann’s Wells Road, Beeston Town Centre, Ravensdale and the Lace Market recorded particularly strong improvements in public reassurance following visible interventions.
The wider survey also found that one in four residents now believe safety in their local area has improved over the past six months, an 11%-point increase compared to the previous survey-with almost nine in ten of those people saying local policing initiatives had played an important role in those improvements.
Overall, more than nine in ten respondents said they felt safe in their communities during the daytime, while confidence in Nottinghamshire Police remains consistently high at more than 80%.
Superintendent Chris Pearson, who leads on Immediate Justice for Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Antisocial behaviour can have a devastating impact on individuals, families and communities. It affects people’s quality of life, damages neighbourhoods and can often be the first step towards more serious offending if it isn’t addressed.
“Immediate Justice gives us another valuable tool to deal with this type of behaviour quickly and effectively. By ensuring offenders carry out visible reparative work while engaging with interventions that challenge their behaviour, we’re not only repairing the harm caused but helping reduce the likelihood of future offending.
“The success of the programme is only possible because of the strong partnership between Nottinghamshire Police, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Red Snapper Managed Services, local authorities and communities themselves. Reaching 2,000 referrals is a significant achievement for everyone involved, and one we hope will continue to deliver lasting benefits across Nottinghamshire.”
The programme is also delivering encouraging results in reducing repeat offending.
An evaluation carried out by the OPCC’s Performance and Insight Team found that just 9% of offenders who successfully completed an Immediate Justice resolution went on to reoffend within twelve months.
That compares with 19% of offenders dealt with through more traditional resolutions and 35% of offenders who were offered Immediate Justice but failed to complete it-demonstrating the significant impact meaningful rehabilitation and visible community reparation can have in preventing future offending.
Alongside reducing reoffending, wider evaluation has identified reductions in antisocial behaviour and serious violence within areas benefiting from the programme, while forecasts for the expanded Immediate Justice Plus model suggest further reductions in antisocial behaviour, continued improvements in public confidence and increased opportunities to support offenders into education, training and employment.
Members of the public can report locations affected by antisocial behaviour that may benefit from Immediate Justice reparative work through the Immediate Justice Nottinghamshire website.
Every referral helps identify opportunities for offenders to repair the harm they’ve caused while making local communities cleaner, safer and more welcoming for everyone.
Residents can report locations affected by graffiti, litter, fly-tipping and other environmental issues by visiting www.immediatejusticenotts.co.uk, helping direct future Immediate Justice reparation work to where it is needed most.