Justice Awards 2008



Staff and volunteers who received their certificates at the ceremony. Those who were 
unable to attend will be presented with their certificates as soon as possible.

 

Staff and volunteers honoured at awards ceremony

DEDICATED individuals and teams who have gone the extra mile in delivering justice across the county have been honoured at an awards ceremony.

The Wiltshire Local Justice Awards formally recognised the people behind the scenes who have exceeded normal duties in order to deliver an effective service within Wiltshire and Swindon. 

The ceremony took place in Devizes Town Hall on Monday, January 19. 

The guest of honour was Madeline Wilks, the High Sheriff of Wiltshire, (pictured left) who presented certificates to a wide range of Swindon and Wiltshire criminal justice staff. 

The event was organised by the Wiltshire Criminal Justice Board (WCJB), which promoted the awards locally. 

Staff and volunteers who attended the ceremony were nominated for the 2008 Office for Criminal Justice Reform’s National Justice Awards. 

A total of 30 nominations were received for outstanding work that has taken place within Wiltshire and Swindon’s criminal justice system over the previous year. 

As competition for these awards is fierce and the chances of being short-listed are therefore slight, the WCJB agreed it was appropriate to publicly recognise the effort made by Swindon and Wiltshire criminal justice staff who had been nominated. 

One of Wiltshire’s nominees – The Local Public Service Agreement Working Group – did make it through to the national final and went on to win the Partnership of the Year category. 

The group works to reduce domestic violence. Members are from a wide range of partner agencies, including the WCJB, HM Courts Service, Wiltshire Police, Wiltshire County Council, Army Welfare, Probation, Crown Prosecution Service, Splitz and Victim Support. 

For more on the group's work, see below.

Diana Fulbrook, Chair of the Wiltshire Criminal Justice Board, said: “To see such an array of groundbreaking projects and people constantly going above and beyond their day-to-day duties is inspirational. 

“It is a real tribute to the work that is being carried out across the Criminal Justice System in Wiltshire and Swindon.” 

 

 For more information about our local winners, click here

Please note: further photography of award winners will be uploaded as soon as it is available.

 

 


Members of the LPSA Working Group after receiving their award from Kirsty Young in London.

 

Group work pays off for partners working to reduce domestic violence

The Local Public Service Agreement Working Group works to reduce domestic violence as well as the impact of domestic violence throughout the county.

It won the Partnership of the Year category in the Justice Awards 2008 on October 21, 2008.

The awards were presented by broadcaster Kirsty Young at Banqueting House in Whitehall, London.

More than 700 unsung heroes were nominated by colleagues in police forces, courts, prisons, probation services, community organisations, prosecution and defence teams and charities helping victims, witnesses and offenders.

Established in January 2006, the LPSA Working Group had the specific remit of achieving three LPSA stretch targets for domestic violence: increasing the number of reported incidents by a further 421 incidents by March 2008; reducing the number of repeat incidents to 35 per cent and increasing the number of successful DV cases (charges resulting in conviction) to 70 per cent. 

Their work resulted in key successes; two targets resulted in 100 per cent achievement, while the third made some achievement and continues to improve. 

The success of the group has meant it will continue, re-titled, as the Domestic Violence Delivery Group for the new Wiltshire Community Safety Partnership.

The group’s work supports the WCJB priority to improve victim and witness satisfaction with the Criminal Justice System.

LPSA Working Group chair, Supt Paul Williams, from Wiltshire Police, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and reflects a great deal of hard work by a partnership group which is made up of a number of different agencies.

“We achieved success in increasing reports of domestic violence, reducing repeat victimisation and successful outcomes at court.

“This was not achieved by applying academic theory, but about finding common sense solutions to practical and real problems.”

Lynn Gaskin, Head of Crime Reduction and Community Protection, Wiltshire County Council, said: “This is a very real achievement not only for Wiltshire but for the excellent partnership working that it represents.

“I am very aware that all the individuals involved are not only extremely hard working but also dedicated to raising the profile of the issues of domestic violence and improving services for victims and their families”

Diana Fulbrook, Chair of the Wiltshire Criminal Justice Board, said: “The Criminal Justice Board is absolutely delighted about this award.

“It is an excellent example of effective partnership working towards something which is important to us all. The team richly deserves it and are a credit to Wiltshire.”

The awards ceremony formed part of Inside Justice Week from 18-25 October 2008, during which the Criminal Justice System opened its doors to the public so they could find out how it really works.

For more information on Inside Justice Week, click here.

 

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