Community Justice Glasgow Team
Tom Jackson
Head of Community Justice, Glasgow City Council
Community Justice… for me, it represents effective and efficient justice through trust, communications and collaboration across our diverse public and third sector systems and derived from listening to the voice of the lived experience stakeholders.
Hi, I’m Tom and I have headed up Community Justice Services in Glasgow since 2012. At risk of cliché, it is fair to say this year has been like no other. While the implications of the pandemic have challenged justice services, they have also demonstrated the commitment and opportunities of partnership working. In every area of Community Justice we witnessed partners responding to ensure the best possible outcomes, such as the cooperative efforts to ensure prison throughcare and “Early Release” was safe and tailored to need during the height of Covid-related restrictions.
We have seen great learning as well during the past year. Since 2015 I have been Chair of the Board for the charity Street Cones, an arts based project run for and by people with lived experience of the justice system. This charity, historically reliant on live workshops and theatre, evolved an on-line approach and has supported local authorities to deliver CPO Unpaid Work requirements and is now taking that learning beyond the pandemic. I also am, since its inception, Chair of the charity Braveheart Industries (trading as Street and Arrow), focussing on employability for people with convictions. With a key focus on catering, the charity was hit hard by the restrictions, but has revised its business plan, recruited new Board members and is emerging with strength and a deeper understanding of the business model needed for the coming years.
Community Justice may be about effective and efficient justice, but at the heart of effectiveness and efficiency there will always be partnerships.
Margaret Smith
Policy, Planning & Development Officer
I said last year in my introduction to myself that each day in my life at Community Justice Glasgow was like no other, well 2020-2021 has certainly been a year like no other. For myself, the Community Justice Team and Partnership it brought much trepidation, challenges and opportunities. Across the Justice arena we work to provide efficient and effective services to people in Glasgow who have some of the most complex needs and are some of the most disadvantaged in our City – with already higher rates of homelessness, addictions, poorer mental and physical health etc. than the general population. As I’m sure you will appreciate, the Covid 19 Pandemic brought many challenges to the Community Justice Doorstep, not least the closure on and off of the Prison estate to visitors and the inability to continue with squad placements for Community Payback Unpaid Work.
That said I have been particularly proud this year to have worked closely with our team and partners – new and old – to be part of the solution – ensuring that we found new ways to reach people, to continue to deliver services where possible, and to adapt and flex our approach and delivery where it was not – ultimately to have be part of the picture in continuing to keep Glasgow a safer place and more equal place for all her citizens.
It was also a challenging year for the charities that I am involved with. The Croft (HMP Barlinnie’s Advice & Support Service for families impacted by a loved ones’ imprisonment), for which I have been Chair of the Board for several years, had its delivery model hugely impacted by the closure of the Prison estate to both visitors and services working closely with and in and around the Prison. It was a very challenging time for families who were worried sick about the health of their loved ones, with no access to see or speak to them. The Croft, with the support of a fantastic staff team and Board worked tirelessly and quickly to completely change its delivery model to an online & digital one with community outreach added when restrictions allowed. By accessing digital devices to support families to access virtual visits and virtual support they were able to continue with their service.
Hope Connections, a charity that I recently joined as a Trustee Board Member, continued to connect with people who needed support throughout the Pandemic, often stepping into gaps that Glasgow City Council Social Work and other support services could not deliver at that time. Their staff and volunteers delivered phones, digital devices, food, furniture and Hope to those who needed it most. I can’t praise their efforts enough.
Karen Baxter
Policy Officer, Community Justice
I have worked in community justice since January 2016, when I took up the Policy Officer post to assist with the transition to the new model of Community Justice, and have continued working with the Community Justice Glasgow core team. Prior to this I worked in various roles in NHS Health Planning before moving on to Social Work Services in Renfrewshire and Glasgow, most recently working in addictions and homelessness service commissioning and contract management.
My role is varied, there are always new challenges and I enjoy working with so many different local and national partners. Working in partnership to see positive change is the most satisfying part of the role, and while this does not always happen as fast as I’d like, it is truly heartening to see partners work together to improve systems and services for people.
To me, community justice means getting the right support to people at the right times to prevent reoffending, helping to address the underlying issues that lead to offending, which in turn helps to reduce victimisation and improve our communities.
Lyn Pyper
Adinistration & Partnership Support
Hi there, I’m Lyn, I’ve worked with the Community Justice Glasgow (CJG) team for last 5 years. Previously I was in Committee Services for a number of years. My role in the team as Administration and Partnership Support Officer involves a broad range of duties, from admin assistance to the CJG team, diary co-ordination, arranging and clerking meetings to organising larger community events for the team, and providing assistance to wider partner organisations. During this time I’ve visited many Scottish Prison Service establishments, met a wonderful variety of people involved in the system, and had the opportunity to see a lot of ground breaking initiatives looking to resolve issues contributing to offending and enhance opportunities for individuals to reduce re-offending, maintain desistance and to overall improve their outcomes.
The role is varied, interesting and all in all keeps me very busy. Since working in the justice arena I realise there are many complex issues involved, in both factors contributing to an individual’s involvement in the Justice System and complexities in the structures, both statutory and third sector, in place to deal with all the different stages of this involvement.
Richard Hill
Seconded Data Analyst
I have worked as a Data Analyst for 10 years in a number of different fields. Initially working in Finance for Glasgow City Council, I began working for the Glasgow Community Planning Partnership in 2015, tasked with building the Performance Framework for the Single Outcome Agreement, building Neighbourhood profiles and disseminating the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.
Secondment into the Community Justice Glasgow team, began in 2019 with work on the ‘Improved Outcomes Post Liberation’ project, with a focus on securing tenancies, reducing homelessness and securing financial support from the Department of Work and Pensions; by progressing the work of the Scottish Governments SHORE standard.
I trained initially in programming in Visual Basic for Applications within Microsoft Excel, building reports within SAP and Business Objects, before being bit by an obsessive bug to progress Statistical analysis in programme languages R and Python.
Danni Glover
Graduate Project Officer
Hi! I’m Danni, and I started with Community Justice Glasgow this year.
Previously I worked in Northern Ireland on projects aimed at improving community resilience through art and cross-community conversations. Before that, I was a university lecturer, and I’m pleased to be putting both my research background and my passion for community work to use at Community Justice Glasgow. I love how varied the role is, and I especially love being able to work directly with the people of Glasgow every day. I’m especially interested in projects that aim for transformative forms of justice, striving for safety and empowerment for all citizens.
Working across the UK has taught me that every place has its own story, so I’m a big believer in place-based solutions to our complex issues. To me, the community aspect of community justice is key, whether evoked by neighbours looking out for one another or our network of partners coming together to collaborate on improving services and ensuring that stakeholders have a voice.
Matthew Akerman
Project Officer (Urbanism)
I have been working with Community Justice Glasgow since Winter 2020, performing an urbanism researcher role, looking at areas of our city blighted by complex social and environmental issues. What gets me out of bed in the morning? Coffee, and unravelling the complex of threads that make certain areas of our city a hotspot for vulnerability. A great role as it allows me to get out of the office for field-work, learn the history of a place, and the personal experiences of individuals there.
Originally from Somerset, having moved to Glasgow in 2014, I am always learning new things about our city and its people – often finding myself on the ‘bleeding edge’ of the justice system’s interactions with vulnerable persons. Whether that is joining third-sector outreach teams in conversation with the rough-sleepers of the city-centre, or shadowing Police Officers on a Friday night as coronavirus restrictions ease.
When not performing place-based research, I assist the Community Justice data analysts in progressing data sharing to reduce the risk of homelessness faced by prison leavers, as well as turning data otherwise trapped in an Excel spreadsheet into maps that provide an invaluable visual tool in partner decision-making.
One Glasgow Core Team
Michael Fletcher
T/Inspector, Police Scotland Preventions, Interventions & Partnerships & One Glasgow
I have been in the Police for 12 years and have had a variety of different roles covering response policing, community policing and organisational development.
I joined the One Glasgow team in 2018 and it quickly became evident to me that early intervention with young people is the most effective way to ensure better outcomes. This can only be achieved through partnership working and close links between the Public Sector, Private sector and 3rd party agencies.
The One Glasgow model ensures that information is shared between these groups to quickly identify and react to those who need additional support. I have seen countless young people who were on a dangerous trajectory and, through the hard work of our 3rd sector partners, have been diverted away from criminality and improved their lives and their families’ lives.
The One Glasgow team are constantly looking at ways in which we can further support our partners, the community and most importantly young people who need our help.
Sarah Schofield
T/Sergeant, Police Scotland Preventions, Interventions & Partnerships- One Glasgow & Children & Young People
I have been a Police Officer for 12 years with experience in both response and community policing as well as management support.
I was delighted to join the One Glasgow Reducing Offending team in March 2021 and shortly after my role was expanded to Sergeant for Children and Young People also giving me oversight of both School Campus Officers and Police Scotland Youth Volunteers within Greater Glasgow Division.
I have had some experience of One Glasgow in the past whilst seeking diversionary activities for young people living in the Southside who had or were at risk of entering into a pattern of offending. Now that I am proudly part of that team, I can truly see the hard work of the One Glasgow Partners and the impact that that partnership work has on improving the lives of young people and their families within Glasgow. I look forward to continuing this work as well as finding new ways to support young people and our partners within the city of Glasgow.
Alan Graham
Police Constable, Police Scotland & One Glasgow
I have been a Police Officer for 23 years and have spent most of my service working in a uniform operational environment. For the past 4 years I have been part of the One Glasgow Reducing Offending Unit. My day to day role within the department is to identify suitable young people, involved in offending behaviour, or potentially on the cusp of offending, for intervention work from our partner organisations. I liaise with my Social Work colleague and between us we refer a number of suitable young people each year. I then provide support to the partners for each young person and this is done through analytical support and regular scheduled meetings. I really enjoy the role and take a lot from it knowing that we have helped, through a partnership approach, many young people. This support helps to reduce the cycle of offending and in many cases offending ceases altogether. The work that I do, in connection with our partners, really helps to improve the lives of young people and their families across Glasgow.
Nanette Blair
Social Worker – One Glasgow and Glasgow City Council Intensive Services, Intensive Support and Monitoring Service (ISMS) and ISMS Alternative to Remand
I have been a qualified Social Worker since 2003 and I was initially in the area team locality as a Youth Justice Social Worker. I moved to ISMS (Alternative to Remand) in 2009 to develop and provide a new service to the Courts as a direct alternative to custody with an intensive package of support to reduce risks and vulnerabilities for young people. This has been a beneficial service for young people to provide support in the community and create positive outcomes for the city’s most vulnerable children/young people. I have gained a wealth of knowledge from my involvement in the service and I have an informed understanding of the criminal justice system and the impact on young people.
I moved to One Glasgow in May 2016 to develop the links between One Glasgow and Social Work. The team has created a multi-agency partnership model that is aspired by other local authorities which include strong links with statutory and third sector agencies. This has allowed us to be efficient and effective in our response to offending to create the best outcomes for young people. The timely response using data and information are crucial to identifying the right service at the right time to create change and support young people move on to a positive lifestyle.
I am very proud to be part of the One Glasgow Team and I am looking forward to the future development of the service to continue to support the city’s young people. However, the credit needs to go to the young people who work hard with services to make that change.