Immediate Justice changes teenager’s life

A Nottingham mum says her son has a completely new outlook on life having taken part in Immediate Justice.

‘M’, whose real name is being kept private, was arrested for being drunk and disorderly while on a night-out with friends in Nottingham.

It was at that point that while being worried about the next steps and what type of punishment may be coming his way, the 17-year-old from Ashfield decided to engage with Police and had an honest conversation about his behaviour and the root causes of it.

M was given the opportunity to take part in Immediate Justice, via a three-and-a-half hour community and education session which in line with his own interests, was to take place at the Greenway Foodbank Centre in Nottingham.

At first he rearranged foods in the stock cupboard and then individually hand-packed the food parcels before supporting staff during the opening of the bank.

M was asked by staff to do other odd jobs like making drinks and clearing rubbish while helping residents carry food to their cars, and was delighted at the compliments he received from staff and members of the public.

The Immediate Justice project, which is being led by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire, launched in January 2024 and aims to ensure adults and young 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 after their offence.

Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden said: “Crime prevention and early intervention is key to making sure young people who may have made a mistake are helped to make better choices in life.

“The Immediate Justice scheme ensures people can make up for their errors in a swift manner, and in terms of the youth element it provides an educational aspect to help rebuild the confidence of those involved.

“As well as that, we want to continue to build the trust of our communities by showing them that antisocial behaviour is being treated seriously and with urgency, whilst also acting as a deterrent to others.”

Nottinghamshire is one of 16 PCC areas selected to pilot the antisocial behaviour Immediate Justice projects.

The initiative is now available to young people between the ages of 16 to 18 as well as adults, and is only eligible for 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.

In its first year in operation, the scheme has seen over 450 referrals, 36 of which have been people under the age of 18, from more than 80 force-wide teams and 54 different offence types including antisocial behaviour.

Nottinghamshire Police Superintendent Chris Pearson said: “It is great to see that Immediate Justice is playing an important part in changing the behaviour of our first-time offenders, hopefully deterring them from continuing down a path of crime.

“It is vitally important that we play our part in looking at the root causes of crime and ensuring that we prevent our young people from making the wrong decisions.

“We know the impact that anti-social behaviour has on our communities especially on our residents’ lives. That’s why it is important schemes like Immediate Justice are in place, hopefully offering added reassurance to our communities that these issues are being addressed.”

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.

Red Snapper also then provide a follow up service for individuals under the age of 18, and also them to other specialist organisations who may be able to help with certain issues, including alcoholism.

Lilly Waters, Operations Manager at Red Snapper Managed Services, said: “Modelled by our adult Immediate Justice programme, and the expertise, passion and experience of our Youth Supervisors, Red Snapper offer dedicated one-to-one support tailored to each young person referred.

“Our overall goal is rehabilitation, providing expert diversionary intervention that empowers young people to make positive choices.

“Seeing such positive outcomes is the real driving force behind delivering this life changing work.”

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire (OPCC) teamed up with SocietyWorks to create dedicated web page powered by FixMyStreet Pro where people can pinpoint locations that are in need of a clean-up.

These suggestions are then assessed and, if suitable, targeted for community reparation work by offenders who are referred into the Immediate Justice scheme.

The free online reporting service – hosted on the Police and Crime Commissioner’s website – asks users for a location, a photo of the area in question, and a few simple details.

To report an area near you for a clean-up, or to find out more, visit www.immediatejusticenotts.co.uk.