Today (18 November) marks the start of Resolve’s Antisocial Behaviour (ASB) Awareness Week, where partners and agencies come together nationally to talk about about ASB and how it is being tackled successfully at a local level.
Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne said: “Whilst this particular week focuses on antisocial behaviour and the damage it can cause to individuals and communities, ASB is an issue which Sussex Police is committed to tackling 365 days a year. My own team works closely with: Sussex Police’s dedicated ASB lead, Superintendent Andy Saville; our Immediate Justice (IJ) Taskforce; local authority Community Safety Partnerships; and a variety of other organisations tackling ASB on our streets.
“A key part of our IJ programme is to teach offenders about the harm and damage they have caused through their actions and ensure they put things right for the victim. All our partners within the IJ programme have restorative conversations with offenders and, in most cases, the offender is left with a full understanding and remorse for what they have done.”
The Sussex IJ model to tackle ASB succeeds because it works in partnership with others. Superintendent Saville and our IJ Programme Manager work within PCC Bourne’s office and oversee the successful delivery of IJ across the county. They also work closely with three Delivery Officers to receive and process referrals into the programme.
The Sussex IJ Delivery Officers work with Police, Youth Justice Services, Red Snapper Managed Services, Making it Out, East Sussex Fire & Rescue, Brighton Community Works and local councils to ensure reparative activity is organised and completed in a timely manner. They also provide valuable feedback to the victims of ASB and local agencies.
Each partner organisation within the programme has a wealth of contacts within their local towns or boroughs, developing a schedule of opportunities for reparative activity and restorative conversations.
You can find out more about Immediate Justice in Sussex and see how it has benefitted communities on PCC Katy Bourne’s website.
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