View the Participation Statement in PDF format
The Community Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 sets out requirements for statutory partners of the Angus Community Justice Partnership (ACJP) to produce a Participation Statement detailing how we consulted and engaged with the private and third sector partners and involved the community in the preparation and development of our Angus Community Justice Outcomes Improvement Plan
(ACJOIP) 2020-23.
How did we do this?
While we have specialist and local knowledge that allows us to set activities from a service perspective. We wanted to use the expert knowledge of those with lived experience in our community to help us make better decisions on what actions we should be taking to improve service delivery, how can we reduce offending, enhance the lives of those living in Angus and create an environment where everyone felt safe.
We ensured ongoing liaison and communication between strategic partners.
We sought the views of people in our community e.g., victims and witnesses of crime, people with convictions and their families on how we can reduce re-offending in Angus so they could also be reflected in the ACJOIP.
Step 1
Improve transparency by ensuring you have access to information about the actions we set and the activities we are undertaking
Step 2
engage you at the right time with the right information throughout the decision- making process (e.g., through consultation, information on our website, etc.)
Step 3
build an effective community engagement framework for community justice to identify and incorporate community justice concerns
While we have specialist knowledge that allows us to set activities, we wanted to use the knowledge of those with lived experience in our community, to help us make better decisions so they can enjoy a good life with equal opportunities
Who was involved?
We undertook various engagement activities and consultations with strategic partners to identity and consider the needs of the Angus community.
We sought the views of those with lived experiences taken from surveys within the community via social media, and from those who were subject to a Community Payback Order. We used this information to set key priorities and actions written in an easy-to-read format easily understood by both the public and partners.
The consultative approach taken in developing the plan was transparent around the information we were looking for; early intervention, prevention, families, trauma, mental health and wellbeing, fitting in with our local community planning priorities and national community justice approaches. We recognised the challenges brought about by COVID-19 in gathering a full array of information. So, we adopted a blended approach to ensure we stayed connected to the community and those we work with.
Stakeholders and activities
Statutory partners
The ACJP was established in line with the requirements of the ‘Act’ 2016 and has responsibility for the strategic oversight of the ACJOIP. The partnership holds quarterly meetings, along with additional meetings when necessary, to allow partners to work in close collaboration to produce the plan based on a wide range of data sources.
The plan is regularly monitored at the meetings to identify any issues or gaps to achieving the planned outcomes and provide an opportunity to set any actions for improvement and/or plan training if required.
ACJP is firmly established within the Angus Community Planning Partnership (ACPP) arrangements and reports directly to both the ACPP Executive Board and the Angus Integration Joint Board.
ACJP are represented on various strategic groups related to community justice and these connections have contributed to raising awareness of the community justice landscape within these groups and keep abreast of the activities and initiatives undertaken by these groups.
These include:
Community Justice:
- Community Justice National Coordinators Steering Group
Local groups/partnerships:
- Youth Concern Group (YCG)
- Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADP)
- Chief Lead Officers Group (CLOG)
- Angus Violence Against Women Partnership (AVAWP)
- Strategic Local Employability Partnership (LEP) Group
- Employability Programme Board
- Court User Group
The Partnership is closely aligned with colleagues in Youth Justice and Children & Families Services to ensure community justice is considered within their plans. Sessions have been provided to senior management and staff from various partner organisations to raise awareness of the priorities of the partnership. A community justice page is also available within the Angus Council website to provide information around community justice and link members of the public to other partner sites.
Voluntary sector
Several partners from voluntary sector agencies are also represented on the ACJP including:
- Victim Support Scotland (VSS)
- Families Outside
- Tayside Council on Alcohol (TCA)
- Angus Women’s Aid (AWA)
- Voluntary Action Angus (VAA)
- Skills Development Scotland (SDS)
Connecting and developing services are key principles in developing the ACOIP, to ensure the community are provided the ‘right support’ at the ‘right time’ to overcome any difficulties they may be experiencing.
Events
A working group was set up consisting of members from the statutory and third sectors: Communities Team, Parental and Family Engagement Practitioner & Communities Officer, Education, Early Years Nurture Team Leader all within Angus Council, Regional Family Support Coordinator for Families Outside and the Development Officer for the ACJP. To support Primary and Head School Teachers and Early Years Practitioners an understanding of the impact on children and families who have a family member in prison.
The event took the form of a twilight session between 4pm-7pm to accommodate the working patterns of participants. It was hosted by professionals from both the statutory and third sectors and involved three short presentations and six workshops. The event began with a presentation from the Governor of HMP Castle Huntly, who provided information on the prison and the support offered to prisoners and their families. Followed by a presentation from the Head of Prison Health Care on the healthcare offered to prisoners through their journey from admission to liberation, concluding with a presentation from the Regional Family Support Coordinator for Families Outside, on the importance of children and families staying involved with their family member in prison, as it is a significant protective factor in promoting their overall wellbeing whilst in prison.
Participants were also given the opportunity to ask presenters questions following the presentations.
The workshops included representatives from; Barnardo’s, Home Start, Families Outside, Family Mediation, Early Years and the Communities Team in collaboration with the Team Leader of the Parenting and Family Learning team at Perth & Kinross who undertakes parenting work with prisoners.
Participants comprised of; four early years practitioners, three primary head teachers, nine teachers from primary and Secondary schools, two representatives from Education Scotland, and two health visitors. The workshops undertook a carousel format to allow participants the opportunity to ask more information on the specific work of individual services/agencies.
The event ended with a brief round-up of the sessions to allow participants time to discuss what they would take away from the event and complete an evaluation questionnaire. Families Outside have gone on to provide bite-size learning awareness sessions to a range of staff from Psychology, Schools, Social Work, and Independent Advocacy to highlight the issues facing children and families who have a family member in prison and the work they do to support them.
A further event, similar to the ‘twilight’ session is currently in development.
Community Justice Scotland (CJS)
The ACJP Chair & Coordinator have attended several national engagement events presented by Community Justice Scotland. Information from these have been shared via briefings, presentations, and partnership meetings to support the development of the ACJOIP.
During September 2021, the partnership and CJS collaborated in arranging a photoshoot opportunity with clients undertaking Unpaid Work.
The Munro Unpaid Work Team (men only) were photographed during the clearance of a local woodland pathway, whilst the Glen Isla team (women only) were photographed undertaking activities with their supervising officers. Both clients and unpaid work team supervisors embraced the opportunity to showcase/discuss the work they do. The photos and comments are in the process of being uploaded to the CJS website.
Survivors and victims
Eradicating gender-based violence (GBV) against women and girls is a key priority for both the partnership and the Angus Violence Against Women Partnership and are equally committed to improving outcomes and local services for those suffering from any type of abuse, violence or coercive control.
To support a better understanding of the experiences of victims and survivors of domestic abuse. We undertook a study involving two surveys sent to 11 services involved with victims of GBV i.e., Justice, Children’s & Families, Housing, WRASAC, Angus Women’s Aid (AWA) and Barnardo’s.
The main aims of the surveys were to gather information around; their understanding of the national policies in place governing their work with victims/survivors and perpetrators; and identify/comment on any gaps in service provision for both victims/survivors and perpetrators of all types of domestic abuse and coercive control.
This was followed by two virtual focus groups for frontline workers working with victims/survivors and perpetrators, to establish the types of support they offer and where they believe service delivery could be improved.
Lastly, a ‘Facebook’ survey hosted by AWA, launched during ‘16 Days of Activism - aimed at women aged over 18, to gather their views on how the pandemic had impacted on their ability to access services. The women were also offered the opportunity to become involved in improving service response in the event of further lockdowns and shape service delivery for the future.
Service users
Following the GBV study in January 2021, the Glens Projects (Glen Isla team for women on statutory court orders and the Glen Clova, offering voluntary support for women on the periphery of the justice system) set up a ‘service user’ consultation group to give the women the opportunity to contribute to service design and delivery in Angus. The group were/are also invited to take part in other surveys and consultations e.g., Mental Health Provision in Tayside.
Comments from those participating in the consultations said they felt “valued and empowered” at being offered the opportunity to voice their views.
As a result of the publication of the Hard Edges Scotland Report, examining the interconnections between ‘Severe and Multiple Disadvantage” (SMD):
- Offending
- Homelessness
- Substance Dependency (SD)
- Mental Health difficulties (MH)
- Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) and the impact on the lives of service users
We offered clients from the Munro Team subject to a Community Payback Order the opportunity to complete a questionnaire to give their perspectives and experiences of working with multiple services.
Ten participants took part, ranging between the ages of 21 - 54 were currently engaging with a variety of services to address their individual issues.
Findings from the consultation, mirrored those in the Hard Edges Report and helping to identify areas where service delivery could be improved and included the ACJOIP.
What next?
We will continue to involve and collaborate with our strategic partners and ensure the decisions we are recorded and made available to the public. The needs and views of the community will remain at the forefront when developing the ACJOIP, to ensure we are meeting the key priorities and set actions central to improving the lives of people in our communities