What is community justice?
Community Justice is a collaborative approach to prevent offending and reduce further offending. It emphasises a person-centred approach and the importance of addressing the underlying causes.
Community justice advocates the importance of:
- effectively supporting those who have committed offences to help them reintegrate into the community
- ensuring victims, witnesses, families and communities have access to support to recover from or mitigate the impact of crime
We will achieve this by:
- improving community understanding and participation in community justice
- planning and working collaboratively across services and partners
- designing and delivering support and services that are based on evidence of what works
- supporting equal access to services for all
The National Strategy for Community Justice
The Scottish Government launched the National Strategy for Community Justice in 2016.
Traditionally, justice services are thought of as police, courts, prosecutors, social work and prisons. Community justice is much wider. It involves victims of crime, witnesses, families and wider communities in addition to individuals who commit or are at risk of committing offences. It includes early prevention and intervention through education and diversion from the criminal process.
Read the National Strategy for Community Justice
Community Justice Scotland
Community Justice Scotland was established on 2017 to oversee and support community justice nationally and to enable the aims set out in the national strategy.
Visit the Community Justice Scotland website.
Community Justice in Stirling
The Community Justice Partnership in Stirling is supported by a number of partner organisations who play a role in the wider justice and community support framework. The members are:
- Police Scotland
- NHS Forth Valley
- Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership
- Skills Development Scotland
- Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service
- Scottish Prison Service
- Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
- Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
- Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise
- Clackmannanshire and Stirling Alcohol and Drug Partnership
- Stirling Council
Community Justice reports
Stirling Community Justice Partnership Annual Summary Report (March 2021-April 2022)
The Stirling Community Justice Partnership (CJP) is responsible for delivery of the Stirling Community Justice Outcomes Improvement Plan (CJOIP).
The CJP has representation from the following agencies:
- Stirling Council (Justice Social Work, Children and Families Social work, Housing, Regeneration and Inclusive Growth)
- Police Scotland
- Scottish Prison Service
- Alcohol and Drugs Partnership
- Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise
- Scottish Fire and Rescue
- NHS Forth Valley
- Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership
- Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service
- Skills Development Scotland
- Gender Based Violence Partnership
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) continue to operate a Sheriffdom model nationally. Stirling is within the Tayside, Central, and Fife Sherrifdom. A meeting is held quarterly with Community Justice Coordinators from the Sherrifdom with the COPFS.
The CJP is required to report annually to Community Justice Scotland (CJS) via the Annual Return, which contains detailed measurement of outcomes. This summary report will highlight key points from the return. Individual partners have made significant progress on outcomes, as noted in the full report and within individual organisation/service reports. This short summary will instead focus on key achievements specific to the collective work of the CJP.
New activity development has been a challenge during this reporting period. However, more has been possible than in the previous reporting period.
Ongoing pressures on capacity and resources remain a challenge as a result of Covid-19 and the Ukraine resettlement scheme. However, multi-agency working has strengthened during this period and virtual meetings/training have increased engagement.
Key Achievements
- Partnership working across thematic groups
- Justice Journey research project (including lived experience peer interviews)
- Second Chancers exhibition at University of Stirling
- Trauma informed practice in the arts workshop for practitioners
- Women in the Justice System joint CJP/GBVP (Gender Based Violence Partnership) event as part of 16 Days of Activism campaign
- Sherriff Information Project - completed regular updates on services available in Stirling Council area for Sherriff's
- Development of Stirling Community Justice Third Sector Forum, launched during Challenge Poverty Week 2021 with a session highlighting the links between poverty and the justice system
- Hosted a session alongside Scottish Prison Service (SPS) on the new National Women's Facility- HMP Stirling
- Representation of community justice agenda at number of key forums/meetings
All reports
Stirling Community Justice Annual Report
Reducing Offending in Stirling 2018 - 2021
For more information, email: communityjustice@stirling.gov.uk