Minister Meets Offenders on City Visit
09/08/2010
A Government minister met offenders carrying out Community Payback on a visit to Brighton on Wednesday 4 August.
Justice minister Crispin Blunt MP visited offenders and probation staff at a project in Stanmer Park, where the Community Payback team has been working to create and maintain allotments used by single parent families.
The Fork and Dig it community project, operated by Stanmer Organics, provides free workshops and allotment access for single parent families and other community groups. Community Payback offenders have been working one day a week on the scheme for several months, digging over the new allotment area, planting , fencing and carrying out general repair work.
Community Payback is the scheme where offenders are sentenced by the courts do unpaid work as a way of making amends for the harm they have caused.
Nick Smart, deputy chief executive of Surrey & Sussex Probation Trust (SSPT), said: It was pleasing to be able to demonstrate such an excellent example of offenders working hard and providing a great service to the community.
Mr Blunt, who has ministerial responsibility for prisons, probation and youth justice, spent around an hour at the site as part of a visit to SSPT, where he had lunch with the trust board and senior managers and met frontline staff working at the Lancaster House probation centre, Grand Parade.
Mr Blunt said: In June the Secretary of State stated that the priorities of the Ministry are to punish offenders, protect the public and provide access to justice. Therefore, we want a more constructive approach to rehabilitation and sentencing.
No organisation is better placed to lead the way than probation trusts and my visit today is to see the work done in Sussex and Surrey and to listen to those on the frontline who know what does and does not work in rehabilitating offenders and see how they would improve the system.
