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. We can continue to improve outcomes across the whole of the justice “journey”, ensuring benefits for individuals, families and the wider communities of Glasgow.
Hi, I’m Tom and I have headed up Community Justice Services in Glasgow since 2012. This past year has brought some levels of normality, after the impact of Covid-related factors on our justice system, though we are still dealing with the ripples of effect. The commitment of the Team and of partners has ensured continuity through the past few years and has seen progress in relation to Diversion from Prosecution, Bail Support and Prison Throughcare.
We have seen great learning as well during the past year. Since 2015 I have been Chair of the Board for the charity the Creative Change Collective, an arts-based project run for and by people with lived experience of the justice system and creative professionals. This charity, having developed an on-line approach to its work during the peak of Covid restrictions, has grown these flexible approaches beyond the pandemic and evolving live work in new and successful ways. I also am, Chair of the charity Braveheart Industries, focussing on employability for people with convictions. That charity has been evolving its business model needed for the coming years, with a focus on its “Navigator” programme and exploring employment opportunities in green energy.
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
Hi I’m Margaret one of the core team here at Community Justice Glasgow. I have been working in Community Justice since the establishment of Community Justice Authorities (CJAs) in 2008. In 2015, I took up the Position of Policy, Planning and Performance Officer for the Glasgow CJA.
The majority of my day-to-day work focusses on:
- Engagement – which includes the development and editor role of our Annual Reporter(s), original development and ongoing embedding and evaluation of the Let’s Get Communities Connected App – with our tech development partner Glasgow Girls Club and opportunities to engage with those who have lived experience to shape and influence our work.
- Work to improve health outcomes for those who come into contact with the justice system – working with a range of services to improve knowledge and understanding, break down barriers to engagement and ensure that those who come into contact with the justice system are able to access the services they need to improve their health outcomes (physical, mental, drug & alcohol misuse issues, trauma etc.) – reducing the risk that they will re-offend.
- Work with Victim Support Scotland – supporting those who are impacted by crime to understand the justice system (including custodial sentencing and community options) and supporting the development of pathways for victims to feedback on and influence developments to help shape community justice.
- Influencing and shaping options to include service user voices across the touch points of the justice system – including work with Media Education to develop a suite of video resources made by people with lived experience of the justice system behind the camera exploring the issues that impact them.
- Shape the development of support pathways for families impacted by a loved one’s imprisonment.
- Performance Management – shaping and working with partners and colleagues to develop a suite of local performance indicators and outcomes that will tell the story of Community Justice and the reducing reoffending agenda in Glasgow.
- Leading on the Improvement Plan for Diversion from Prosecution (Adult).
I am Chair of the Board of Trustees for The Croft, HMP Barlinnie’s Visitor Advice and Support Service. Through this work I am able influence and shape the strategy and support for families impacted by imprisonment around a variety of issues such as financial inclusion, health and wellbeing, homelessness etc. and bring a focus for these families in the wider considerations of Community Justice planning and delivery.
I am also on the Board of Trustees of Hope Connections which has been operating since early 2019. Hope Connections is focussed on developing a Living Hope Outreach Team, a Hope Connections Network, and Hope Connect Communities across Glasgow. Hope Connections exists to provide an additional horizontal layer that helps to join the dots and link up assets across the city, enabling more person-centred signposting, referrals and connections to be made for those in need, focussing their attention on the links between addiction, homeless and offending.
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
Administration and Partnership Support
Hi there, I’m Lyn, I’ve worked with the Community Justice Glasgow (CJG) team for the last 7 years as the Administration and Partnership Support Officer. This involves a broad range of duties. These include admin assistance for 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. It is a varied workload with involvement in lots of areas of work within the team.
Our justice work is always evolving to meet the aims and objectives of our legislative requirements and ultimately to enhance and improve services for those in the justice arena.
My work within the team has shown me there are often a range of complexities involved for those in the justice system, from an individual’s specific needs to navigating the range of statutory services involved and the supporting voluntary organisations working to assist. It has illustrated there is no “one size fits all” solution and that we must endeavour to adapt our operations to ensure those who need services, can access them at the earliest opportunity.
The role is varied, interesting and all in all keeps me very busy!
Richard Hill
Seconded Data Analyst
I am the Senior Data Analyst across Community Empowerment services with responsibility for both Community Justice Glasgow and the Glasgow Community Planning Partnership. I have worked as a Data Analyst for more than 10 years in the Council across several different areas including finance and human resources. I joined Community Empowerment Services way back in 2015, initially as a part of Community Planning Partnership however my role expanded to include Community Justice Glasgow when the new model for the team began soon after.
Having worked intermittently with the team on various projects, in 2019 I became more involved when I joined the Pathfinder to Health Housing and Benefits (PHHaB) partnership, where I was part of the team creating the Data Sharing Agreement with Scottish Prison Service and subsequently planning the use of the data we received to secure tenancies, reduce homelessness and safeguarding financial support for those leaving prison. Subsequently, the team has been unable to get rid of me, as I joined many other projects and now see myself as a core team member.
Suzie Green
Graduate Project Officer, Community Justice, Glasgow City Council
I joined the Community Justice team as a graduate officer in August 2023. I am thrilled to be working with the team on a current project focused on the ‘Four Corners’ area of Glasgow’s City Centre. This area has a disproportionately high level of crime and drug use, and the project involves partnering with key stakeholders to deepen our understanding of the issues in this area of the City, and the social and environmental factors that may be contributing to them. Ultimately, we aim to co-produce an evidence base to drive long-term change in this area at the heart of our city.
Inspector James Friel
Police Scotland Greater Glasgow Division Safer Communities Department
I have 20 years police service and have performed a number of roles within response policing, community policing and event planning before joining the Greater Glasgow Division Safer Communities Department in April 2022. In this role, I am responsible for a team of officers working on crime prevention and intervention, missing people, counter terrorism and equality and diversity issues to ensure a consistent approach across the division in line with national practice.
Since arriving, I have been impressed by the work undertaken by our partners – public, private and 3rd sector- and the skills and knowledge which they use to provide meaningful support to the diverse communities across the city. My team has forged strong relationships with our partners which I intend to maintain and evolve in the coming years- identifying and working collaboratively to deal with issues across the city- to maintain public confidence in our respective organisations.
One Glasgow Core Team
Sergeant Stephen Want
Police Scotland Safer Communities (One Glasgow Reducing Re-Offending & Glasgow City Council Local Authority Liaison Officer)
I have been in the Police for 13 years and have had a variety of different roles covering response policing, community policing, violence reduction and community crime prevention. I have also worked at national level as the training delivery lead for crime prevention, partnership working and community wellbeing for Police Scotland.
I have always had a passion for improving outcomes for the communities which I serve. To achieve this, I embed a partnership approach, having worked extensively with third sector, private sector and public sector agencies to ensure systematic working which is tailored to the needs of the diverse communities I serve.
On taking the helm of the One Glasgow Reducing Offending partnership project recently, I have been impressed by the work undertaken by the partnership to improve outcomes for young people in our city. This can only be achieved through collaborative working, relationship building and trust which allows our team to provide the scaffolding of support for young people across Greater Glasgow.
The One Glasgow project embodies the whole systems public health approach to community wellbeing. In my short time in post I have already 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.
Looking forward to the next year the team and I are striving to continue building bridges between agencies for joined up approaches to give the best outcomes for all young people who engage in our service.
Alan Graham
Police Constable, Police Scotland & One Glasgow
I have been a Police Officer for 25 years and have spent most of my service working in a uniform operational environment. For the past 6 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.
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