Offenders to face community justice

COMMUNITIES which have been affected by crime are being given the chance to make representations over what punishments should be handed down to offenders under a new scheme.

So-called community impact statements will be introduced by Crown Prosecution Service lawyers in Doncaster during cases which are deemed to have had a "significant detrimental effect on neighbourhoods".

South Yorkshire's chief Crown prosecutor, Naheed Hussain, said: "The aim of the statements is to give the public a voice in the criminal justice process by providing relevant and useful additional information about the impact that offences are having on communities.

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"The statements allow criminal justice agencies to understand the detrimental effect that a particular crime may have had on a neighbourhood."

Community impact statements will be used in appropriate cases prior to sentencing and will usually be compiled by a police inspector. They will be read in court before sentence is passed.

Police said an example of where such a statement could be used would be the criminal damage of a community centre – which would have a detrimental effect on the community groups which use the building.

The first ever community impact statement in Doncaster was heard at the magistrates court last month, when a 20 year-old man was ordered to undertake 200 hours unpaid work under the Community Payback scheme and to pay 500 compensation for stealing lead from Finningley Village Hall.

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The CPS said the community impact statement gave information to the court regarding the community groups which regularly meet at the hall and how they may be affected by the damage caused.

People in communities which provide statements will be given a report on what happened to offenders by officers from the CPS after sentencing.

Doncaster is one of the test areas for the scheme, which will be assessed by the Ministry of Justice during the winter.