Community Payback
Offenders on community payback schemes are clearing up Liverpool’s grot-spots.
Liverpool City Council has linked up with Merseyside Police, Liverpool Mutual Homes and the Probation Service to allow people given community orders to make amends for their behaviour.
As part of the Community Payback scheme, a new project is starting on the Westminster Estate in Kirkdale on Monday 14th September.
It is being kicked off by footballing legend John Barnes who will launch the scheme where offenders meet the community’s goals. He will be donning an orange fluorescent jacket and working alongside people involved in the scheme.
The project is based around the Tees Street and Westminster Road area and work will include cutting back branches and trees, fence painting and clearing debris.
Councillor Marilyn Fielding, Liverpool’s executive member for Safer, Stronger Communities, said: “This innovative scheme is working exceptionally well. People who have been given community orders are able to make amends for what they’ve done in a constructive way that benefits the wider community.”
The Westminster Estate came second in a Liverpool wide public vote earlier this year and follows on from a successful scheme in the Fountains and Woodhouse estates where local residents decided how offenders should payback their community for crimes committed.
Councillor Berni Turner, the city’s executive member for the environment, said: “This project will improve the environment for local people. Residents told us that they wanted the area tidied up so working with the Probation Service, we can spruce up the area.”
Inspector Gary O'Rourke, Neighbourhood Inspector for Kirkdale said: "This new initiative is a result of local partner agencies working together with the local community. It not only benefits the local area, it also allows local people to have a genuine say in how offenders pay back for crimes committed in this area."
Judge Fletcher, from the Liverpool North Community Justice Centre, added: “I’m delighted to see Community Payback being delivered in this part of Kirkdale and will be keeping a close eye on its progress. This is one of a number of projects I can now have in mind when sentencing offenders for crimes committed in North Liverpool. Working on this estate, they’ll see how crime can affect communities, and their work will make a real difference to people living here. I look forward to seeing what they can achieve for the community in the next few months.”
Community Payback is a tough and visible punishment for men and women, who have committed a crime. It requires an offender to carry out demanding unpaid work for a minimum of one day per week on a Community Payback project and where possible, the offender will work on a project in the area where they committed the crime.
Offenders work in teams of around six or seven, and each team is accompanied by a fully trained supervisor from the Merseyside Probation Trust. All offenders are regularly risk assessed throughout their period of supervision and learn new skills whilst completing their Order.
For more information about this project or the Community Payback scheme in general visit www.merseysideprobationtrust.org
