A new service is giving local residents across Gedling borough the chance to choose where antisocial behaviour offenders carry out immediate justice reparation work.
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire (OPCC) has teamed up with SocietyWorks to create a new dedicated web page powered by FixMyStreet Pro where people can pinpoint locations across the borough that are in need of a clean-up.
These suggestions will then be assessed and, if suitable, will be targeted for community reparation work by offenders who are referred into the Immediate Justice scheme.
The free online reporting service asks users for a location, a photo of the area in question, and a few simple details.
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Angela Dixon, managing director at SocietyWorks, said: “The technology behind FixMyStreet Pro was built to make it as easy as possible for anyone to help care for their community by reporting local street-based problems to the correct authority.
“We support this innovative use of the software that further enables a positive feedback loop of civic engagement and participation.”
The Immediate Justice project, which is being led by the OPCC, launched in early January and aims to ensure people who commit antisocial behaviour or low-level offences are made to clean up local streets or take part in other positive community activities – as soon as possible from their offence.
Nottinghamshire’s OPCC is one of 16 PCC areas selected to pilot the antisocial behaviour Immediate Justice projects.
Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Gary Godden said: “Improving neighbourhood policing and providing the teams on the streets with the tools they need is one of my key priorities.
“This initiative provides a unique way of dealing with people who commit antisocial behaviour, or low-level offences and ensures they can reflect on their actions while being able to give back to the community within days of their behaviour
“We want to show communities in a very visible way that antisocial behaviour is being treated seriously and with urgency, whilst also acting as a deterrent to others.”
In its first six months in operation, the scheme has seen over 200 referrals from more than 30 force-wide departments and 31 different types of antisocial behaviour.
It is only available to eligible first-time or low-level offenders and gives them an alternative to going to court or paying fines – by spending a set amount of time repairing the harm they have caused to communities.
Reparatory activities have taken place across Nottinghamshire, in locations ranging from public spaces, parks, alleyways, and community centres – the options are extensive.
Persistent offenders will still be dealt with through robust criminal justice outcomes.
The project followed the award of funds from the Home Office to tackle antisocial behaviour and is running until the end of March 2025.
Immediate Justice placements are to be completed within 48 hours of the police completing the referral to the service.
Offenders who are referred to the scheme are supervised by criminal justice interventions service provider Red Snapper Managed Services Ltd, as they go out to carry out work in neighbourhoods across the city and county.
To report an area near you for a clean-up, or to find out more, visit www.immediatejusticenotts.co.uk
