Charities 'must have role in community sentencing'
Joe Lepper
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Youth justice charities are set to become more involved in community sentencing projects.
In a speech to mark the 100th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s speech on prison reform, justice minister Crispin Blunt today announced plans to increase the range and scale of community sentencing.
He said he wanted to see more charities and community groups involved in running and funding justice work and for projects to tackle "the social issues faced by many offenders".
Blunt added: "We want to rebuild public confidence in the criminal justice system and will work together in our communities to bring the best outcomes for everyone, including victims and offenders."
Paul McDowell, chief executive of crime reduction charity Nacro, which runs projects to support young offenders, said Blunt’s comments present "a golden opportunity for charities to make a real difference to young offenders’ lives".
He said: "We need to see some more details surrounding funding but so far I’m very impressed. This is something that all organisations involved in youth justice ought to be looking at now to see how they can get involved."
Penelope Gibbs, director the Prison Reform Trust’s Out of Trouble project, also welcomed Blunt’s speech. She said: "We were pleased that there was an acknowledgement that prison is not the only answer."
He said he wanted to see more charities and community groups involved in running and funding justice work and for projects to tackle "the social issues faced by many offenders".
Blunt added: "We want to rebuild public confidence in the criminal justice system and will work together in our communities to bring the best outcomes for everyone, including victims and offenders."
Paul McDowell, chief executive of crime reduction charity Nacro, which runs projects to support young offenders, said Blunt’s comments present "a golden opportunity for charities to make a real difference to young offenders’ lives".
He said: "We need to see some more details surrounding funding but so far I’m very impressed. This is something that all organisations involved in youth justice ought to be looking at now to see how they can get involved."
Penelope Gibbs, director the Prison Reform Trust’s Out of Trouble project, also welcomed Blunt’s speech. She said: "We were pleased that there was an acknowledgement that prison is not the only answer."
