Northamptonshire Police works closely with Northamptonshire Probation Trust in the field of restorative justice. Community Payback is a punishment which requires offenders sentenced to unpaid work to repay the community for their crimes. They have to carry out demanding work as a sentence from the courts for up to 300 hours. It is not a soft option. It restricts freedom and is labour intensive. It seeks to utilise the existing skills of those undertaking unpaid work and offers opportunities to other to develop new skills. If they are in full-time work or education they must give up one day at weekends to do Community Payback. Unemployed offenders will have to work for four full days a week.

The type of work includes:

• painting and decorating
• landscaping
• graffiti removal
• environmental improvements
• fencing and ground clearance
• improvements to parks and other community facilities
• work for local charities

Offenders have to wear orange Community Payback jackets to make the work more visible. They work in supervised groups or individually with voluntary organisations and other agencies. We make sure they are fully risk assessed, suitable to work in the community and carefully supervised.

Community Payback aims to:

• improve local communities
• reduce crime and the fear of crime
• be visible to local communities
• allow offenders to make a positive contribution

What difference does it make?

Community Payback is positive and cost effective. It gives offenders a chance to repay local communities for their crimes by doing work that benefits the area. It does not replace paid employment.

Community Payback website

Victim Support

If you have suffered from being a victim of crime. Get in touch with Victim Support.

Northamptonshire Police work in partnership with Victim Support. Victim Support are provided with the details of victims so that they can contact them on behalf of the Chief Constable and explain the support and other services which they are able to provide to victims of crime.

They can offer someone to talk to in confidence, information on police and court procedures, liaison with other organisations on behalf on victims, information on compensation and insurance matters, contact with other sources of help and Victim Support can arrange for volunteers to accompany people to the police station and to the court.

Your local Victim Support is at Angel Street, Northampton and may be contacted on 01604 603 477. The National Number for Victim Support is: 0845 3030 900, lines open 8am to 10pm

Victim Support website

Sunflower Centre

The Sunflower Centre offers support and advice to victims of domestic abuse. Contact us on 01604 233 684 or 01536 204 691.

Sunflower Centre website

The Sunflower Centres are located at:
14 Fish Street, Northampton, NN1 2AA
The TA Building, Elizabeth Street, Corby, NN17 1PN

PubWatch

This scheme is a community based crime prevention scheme, organised by Licensees with the support of the Police. It provides confidence, support and protection to Licensees and their premises, a message passing link between each other, improved communication between the Police and licensed trade and a forum for discussion and solution of problems relating to alcohol related violence, crime and drug misuse.

For more information contact the Community Safety Unit:

Tel: 01604 888 585

Community Safety Accreditation Scheme

Local authorities and members of their staff in Northampton and Kettering are working with the Police in preventing and reducing crime and improving the quality of life for local people.

Northamptonshire Police has taken advantage of sections in the Police Reform Act 2002 that enables police forces to implement a Community Safety Accreditation Scheme where local authorities and employees are accredited (Accredited Persons) to help in improving community safety.

The initiative is being piloted in Northampton and Kettering where employees from each Borough Council respectively will have extra powers to tackle graffiti, abandoned cars and other anti-social behaviour.

Accredited Persons (APs) will be trained in the following range of powers, but it will depend on the role they perform and the location of their daily duties as to which powers they will be able to use:

Power to issue fixed penalty notices for dog fouling and littering
Power to require giving name and address for a fixed penalty notice, offences causing injury, alarm or distress or loss of, or damage to, any other person's property and from a person acting in an anti-social manner

Alcohol consumption in designated public places
Confiscation of alcohol and tobacco from young people
The removal of abandoned vehicles

What is Accreditation?

Community Safety Accreditation Schemes have been introduced by Government legislation for the police service to accredit members of the extended police family, who are not employed by the police, with the intention of harnessing the commitment of those already involved in crime reduction and reassurance.

Accreditation comes in two parts – for the individual and for their employers, in this case local authorities. Accredited Persons will be existing employees with perhaps some newly created roles in the future.

KRISP Kettering Racial Inter Social Partnership

KRISP is a non profit making group of people from the different cultural and religious groups in Kettering and surrounding villages who have got together voluntarily to organise events to raise awareness of the different cultures living in Kettering and to promote community cohesion.

Our events this year were as follows:

• Multi-cultural awareness evening at the Cornmarket Hall, which offered free food tasting from different groups and various musical acts such as Egyptian dancing and a Bhangra band. Over 250 people attended and there was standing room only. The whole evening was free to the public
• Kettering Carnival, we had two float off the "around the world in 80 days" theme, and took a 1st prize category. We had a variety of live and recorded music on the float and offered food tasting at our park stall
• An after Carnival party was held later that evening for all participants
• Multi-Cultural Awards ceremony, which gave recognition to a number of groups and individuals who are carrying out good work in Kettering
• African night, another free event offering African food tasting and dancing
• Raising œ1600 for the Tsunami
• Holocaust memorial day

All the events were a phenomenal success. Each event was supported and funded by the help, facilities and cash donated by local groups and businesses.

As Chair person for Kettering Racial inter social partnership (KRISP) as well as the Hate crimes officer for the Northern area of Northamptonshire police I have pleasure in announcing the KRISP groups 12 month adopted work plan for the year 2006.

• Multi cultural fashion show
• Expanded Multi cultural event, bigger than previous years
• African night
• Carnival
• Awards Ceremony
• Kids fun day

We will also be organizing other events and working in partnership with other groups to support their events as well as assisting with talks and conferences throughout the year.

KRISP is also looking for new members who wish to be involved in the work that we are doing.

If you or members of your community are interested in taking part in any of the above events or simply want to know more. Please contact me on 01536 444 684 or Vanessa Wilkinson 07810 191 055 or Peter Paqueens Aisabonghi 07963 289 893.

Chair person DC 1107 Murray 07808 182 356
Deputy Chair person Kamal Paul 07776 276 221
Treasurer Vanessa Wilkinson (founder) 07810 191 055

Multi Agency Group against Racial Attacks and Harassment - MAGRAHs are made up of a number of different agencies that all have a joint goal of eliminating racist discrimination in all its forms.

The partner agencies share information relating to reported racist incidents to ensure that everything possible is done to support the victim and their families. The wishes of the victim are however always paramount in deciding what, if any, action is to be taken.

Partner agencies of MAGRAH, both individually and collectively, also endeavour to prevent the commission of further racist incidents as well as dealing with those that have already occurred.

MAGRAH, being an unconstituted body of different agencies, has no specific authority to act, but what it does have is the potential that it offers to its member organisations to gain by co-operation.

Dealing with racism and harassment is not a simple task and being a victim of a racist incident raises complex emotions. More often than not, victims are better supported and offenders more effectively dealt with, through agencies working together.

There are 5 MAGRAHs across the county each with a chair.

Chair person Hilary Guy 01536 410 252
Maureen Morris 01604 603 477
Deputy Chair person DC 1107 Murray 07808 182 356