Justice Awards 2009
Recognising outstanding work in the Criminal Justice System
Leicestershire has scooped four awards at this year’s Justice Awards ceremony with a national winner and three highly commended finalists.
The annual Justice Awards recognises teams and individuals across the Criminal Justice System who have gone the extra mile to deliver justice. This year Leicestershire can celebrate the success of two teams and two individuals all of whom beat off competition from more than 900 nominations across the country to make it to the finals. They were all at the London ceremony on October 20 to see their achievements and contribution formally recognised.
Yasmeen Siddique (47) of Leicester won the top prize in the Caring for Victims category for her work as a volunteer with Victim Support. Yasmeen supports victims of all kinds of crime and specialises in supporting victims of sexual and domestic violence. Her dedication, skill and enthusiasm for what she does shone through in her nomination. At yesterday’s (October 20) prestigious award ceremony at the Banqueting House in London her achievements and contribution were formally recognised.
After receiving the award Yasmeen said: “I’m very excited and surprised to have won. I love what I do and can really see the difference that it makes. I’ve been volunteering for a long time on top of my other work. Victim Support have got some of the best training in sexual and domestic violence, which is the area that I work in and what we do works. I’ve seen results and the ladies I support are very complementary about the service they’ve received. I can relate to them and the more I do it the more I love it. I’ve found my niche in life.”
The Leicestershire finalists highly commended for their work were the volunteers from the hugely successful Harborough Be Safe scheme who reached the finals in the ‘Caring for Victims’ team category in recognition of their outstanding work in helping elderly and vulnerable victims of distraction burglary in the Harborough District.
Also to be recognised were the team at the Contact Project Youth Centre, who were highly commended in the ‘Tackling Youth Crime’ category for their work with young people on the St Matthews’ Estate which is breaking down barriers between the police and young people and transforming the lives of many who were involved in crime or at risk of offending.
And finally, Jean Murray (77) from the Seagrave area of Leicestershire was highly commended in the in the ‘Working with Offenders’ category for her exceptional work as an appropriate adult helping young people in custody. Jean is a volunteer with the Youth Offending Service.
Kate Carty, Leicestershire’s Chief Crown Prosecutor and Chair of Leicestershire and Rutland Criminal Justice Board said: “We are incredibly proud of our finalists. Their stories are truly inspiring and a shining example of the dedication that exists amongst the staff and volunteers that work in the Criminal Justice System in Leicestershire and Rutland. Congratulations!”
The Home Secretary, Alan Johnson said: “Staff at the frontline are often the unsung heroes of the Criminal Justice System. Through the Justice Awards we have the opportunity to recognise and celebrate the outstanding work that is bringing justice to the heart of our communities.”