Immediate Justice Contributes to Communities in Sussex

West Sussex has benefitted from Immediate Justice reparative activity in recent weeks.

he Sussex Immediate Justice (IJ) pilot continues to see success in Sussex with over 319 referrals to date.

The programme sees offenders of anti-social behaviour (ASB) make visible and meaningful amends to individuals, communities or organisations harmed by their actions and gives victims of ASB a say in how their offender does this.

The IJ Taskforce work with a multitude of partners across the county who refer people into the scheme including Red Snapper Managed Services (RSMS) who facilitate adult referrals in East and West Sussex.

Speaking about her continued support for the programme, Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne said: “When I first heard about Immediate Justice, I implored the previous Government to make Sussex one of the Trailblazer areas. Diverting offenders away from court and providing interventions to teach them about the effects of their actions is paramount to the success of the scheme. I have watched our Taskforce grow and embed IJ into our communities and, working with Sussex Police I am proud to say that our model is proving highly successful.

“Anti-social behaviour is a crime it should never be taken lightly or seen as ‘low level’. It can have long-lasting, negative effects on its victims and our well-loved neighbourhood spaces. Ensuring that offenders of ASB make amends visibly, not only deters them from committing the same crime again, but gives victims assurance that they will be listened to and taken seriously.”

West Sussex has seen 21 referrals in September alone, with East Grinstead and Horsham Town Centre benefitting from reparative activity. Keep reading to find out more.

East Grinstead

An individual was caught in possession of cannabis and referred to Immediate Justice to complete reparative activity and was asked to help move wooden pallets in order to build the East Grinstead Bonfire for later in the year.

The individual arrived promptly for their reparative session and engaged positively with the task and other residents working on the build. The activity was very labour intensive, transporting heavy pallets across a field in the rain and the individual felt a great sense of pride at the end of the activity seeing the work they’d contributed to the build. They also expressed an interest in returning to East Grinstead for the bonfire event as they felt proud of being part of the team to build it.

The bonfire took place on 19^th October and was a success with East Grinstead locals. East Grinstead Bonfire Chairman, Terry Deadman said:

“The main aims of East Grinstead Community Bonfire as a group of volunteers is to supply a free annual event to the community of East Grinstead, fundraise to support at least two different small local charities in our area and try to bring additional business to our local traders. 

“When we were contacted by Immediate Justice, we read that their aims are to offer unpaid work in the community as a form of reparation and as this could be by helping local community groups, we felt it was a great opportunity for us to offer our assistance.

“The person we had to help us move the 500 pallets, which were used to build our bonfire, along with his supervisor, really got involved, he was a great help to us on the day.

“He should feel really proud of what he helped us to achieve, in the short time we had available, in appalling weather.  He was a willing worker and our event was a great success, which was enjoyed by a huge number of people from the community of East Grinstead.”

Horsham

Horsham Town Centre has seen benefits from the Sussex Immediate Justice programme after reparative activity took place in the Forum carpark and at Horsham Youth Club.

An individual who committed a public order offence received a Conditional Caution requiring them to complete twelve hours of reparative activity. The case was referred to Horsham District Council and to Red Snapper Managed Services, who specialise in intervention services, to organise the clean-up of the Forum carpark, a well-used asset within the town centre and Horsham Youth Club.

The individual spent six hours clearing scuffs and dirt from walkways and pavements whilst also removing debris from other areas making a positive difference to the space.

Horsham Parking Manager, Rob Leet said: "We’re grateful to the Immediate Justice team for their hard work at The Forum car park in Horsham. Their efforts have delivered excellent, visible results, helping to keep Horsham town centre clean and welcoming for everyone. We look forward to working with them again in the future.”

The supervisor from RSMS overseeing the activity reflected on the activity: "Working along side the individual was a pleasure, he was compliant helpful and worked hard. The area of carpark we cleaned had not been touched in years and by cleaning this up, we made the area safer (no litter rubbish or slippery surface) to walk on and a lot more presentable to the public."

They then spent a further six hours at the Youth Club clearing leaves from the club’s outdoor space which includes a basketball court. The individual was compliant throughout and worked hard to clear leaves and moss across the space. His supervisor highlighted that he was friendly, cooperative and put his maximum effort into the activity.

RSMS Immediate Justice Operations Manager for Sussex, Lilly Waters said: "To meet the reparative goals of Immediate Justice, Red Snapper have made close partnerships with local authorities and councils, allowing them the opportunity to provide us specific locations within districts across Sussex that need attention. Working directly with communities continues to allow us to demonstrate swift, visible and victim focused action through the Immediate Justice Scheme, not only providing positive outcomes for communities and victims of ASB but supporting offenders to feel a sense of belonging and purpose which are core contributors to the  prevention and diversion from further offending."