Community justice strategy: delivery plan

Aim 4 - Strengthen the leadership, engagement, and partnership working of local and national community justice partners

Priority Action 11:

Deliver improved community justice outcomes by ensuring that effective leadership and governance arrangements are in place and working well, collaborating with partners and planning strategically

Deliverables

34. Implement/Embed the Community Justice Performance Framework, the Improvement Tool and the updated self-evaluation model for community justice.

Timescale: April 2024

Responsibility:

• Lead partner - Care Inspectorate, Scottish Government and Community Justice Scotland
• In collaboration with – statutory community justice partners and third sector

Further Detail:

The revised Community Justice Performance Framework (CJPF) and the accompanying Guidance and Technical Document (which provides information on how to use the outcomes and indicators in the CJPF) was published on 31 March 2023.

The Community Justice Improvement Tool was also published on the same date by Community Justice Scotland. This sets out the local evidence that will supplement the national indicator data. Local evidence will provide further context to the national indicators, and help to drive improvement and better understand performance in relation to the nationally determined outcomes.

The Care Inspectorate is also reviewing and updating the guide to self-evaluation for community justice in Scotland. "A self-evaluation guide to support quality improvement for community justice in Scotland" will be published and launched in 2023.

All three organisations will work together to embed and implement these documents in a way which ensures they are used to their maximum benefit, and to consider what additional work may be required to help achieve this.

35. Work with stakeholders to identify steps that could be taken to increase resilience in the local model of coordination and delivery of community justice

Timescale: April 2024

Responsibility:

• Lead partner - Scottish Government
• In collaboration with - Community Justice Scotland, COSLA and Local Authorities

Further Detail:

The Scottish Government will engage with a range of local community justice partners to understand whether there is additional action required to help support local community justice partners in achieving improved outcomes.

This may include work to understand whether additional guidance/learning could be provided on the use of the revised performance framework, and whether there are potential benefits to establishing greater consistency in the role of community justice coordinators (being mindful of the need to retain flexibility and ability to adapt to local needs and circumstances).

This will be taken forward in a way that does not duplicate the statutory duties of Community Justice Scotland, and will build on engagement that was previously undertaken with members of the Community Justice Network in 2019/20. It will also be mindful of the current staffing/resource pressures.

36. Publish and embed updated statutory guidance on community justice outcomes improvement planning and reporting.

Timescale: October 2023

Responsibility:

• Lead partner - Scottish Government
• In collaboration with - Community Justice Scotland, community justice statutory partners and third sector

Further Detail:

The Scottish Government will update the statutory guidance to support statutory community justice partners to understand their roles arising from the Community Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 (as per s24 of the Act). This refresh will also take into account best practice and the role of statutory partners and the third sector working together at a local level.

37. Establish a group or other appropriate structure to discuss community justice data development and provide updates to it on work to improve the publishable evidence base on community justice.

Timescale: December 2023

Responsibility:

• Lead partner - Scottish Government
• In collaboration with - Community Justice Scotland, and community justice statutory partners, including COPFS, SCTS, SPS, Police Scotland and Public Health Scotland

Further Detail:

Community Justice Scotland has highlighted areas where more statistical and/or research information is required to strengthen the evidence base for community justice and to support national and local improvement, including via the Community Justice Performance Framework. This work will initially consider data in relation to, police custody, continuity of health and social care, voluntary care and employability, skills and training for people on release from prison.

Priority Action 12:

Enhance partnership planning and implementation by ensuring the voices of victims of crime, survivors, those with lived experience and their families are effectively incorporated and embedded

Deliverables

38. Implement the Trauma Informed Justice Knowledge and Skills framework.

Timescale: December 2023

Responsibility:

• Lead partner - Scottish Government
• In collaboration with - justice partners, including Community Justice Scotland, third sector and statutory community justice partners

Further Detail:

The framework will help justice organisations identify what their staff need to know when responding to victims of crime and witnesses in a trauma-informed way, and will inform the development of consistent training in trauma-informed practice. It outlines the knowledge and skills for trauma informed practice needed by all people who work in the justice system to respond to victims and witnesses (including children and young people). It is also designed to support those responsible for the delivery of training to identify key learning objectives for different workforce roles, and to develop and deliver training accordingly.

Those with lived experience have been key to the development of the framework, and this is seen throughout the document.

The Scottish Government is providing additional funding to NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to support organisations implementing the framework. The Victims Taskforce and the relevant workstream will consider how we keep the voice of lived experience throughout the implementation phase.

39. Raise awareness of the 'People at Heart' approach to communications and the key principles

Timescale: December 2023

Responsibility:

• Lead partner - Scottish Government
• In collaboration with - Community Justice Scotland, third sector and statutory community justice partners including, Police Scotland, SPS, SCTS

Further Detail:

A review of communications across the justice system was conducted, and a new approach was developed called 'People at Heart'. The approach is focussed on improving communication between criminal justice agencies and victims and witnesses. It also focuses on ensuring that written communications are empathetic, easy to understand, and empowering, to better engage with victims and witnesses

This is for anyone working across the justice system.

The Scottish Government will work with local partners and the Victims Taskforce to raise awareness of this work and share relevant materials.

Priority Action 13:

Support integration and reduce stigma by ensuring the community and workforce have an improved understanding of and confidence in community justice

Deliverables

40. Work to ensure that partners and the judiciary can more effectively access information on all relevant available services in each local authority area.

Timescale: June 2024

Responsibility:

• Lead partners - Scottish Government and Community Justice Scotland
• In collaboration with - statutory community justice partners and third sector

Further Detail:

Community Justice Scotland has an online resource which provides information about the range of community support services available in Scotland. The information is provided by local Community Justice Partnerships and collated by Community Justice Scotland.

It includes details on sentencing measures such as Community Payback Orders, Drug Treatment and Testing Orders, Structured Deferred Sentences, Bail Supervision, third sector Programmes and other relevant statutory services and interventions.

Part of this work will involve conducting a review to consider the best way of gathering information and ensuring an effective and up-to-date resource for partners. This may involve exploring and developing sustainable options for future hosting, resourcing and expansion of information on local community justice services.

41. Ensure the continued awareness raising and promotion of the National Strategy for Community Justice.

Timescale: November 2026

Responsibility:

• Lead partner - Community Justice Scotland
• In collaboration with - Scottish Government, statutory community justice partners and third sector

Further Detail:

Community Justice Scotland will continue to champion community justice by taking the lead in promoting the National Strategy for Community Justice. This will involve working collaboratively with national partners to drive change and support improvements in the community justice system, in line with the strategy and to increase public and community awareness and understanding of the benefits of community justice. This deliverable will be reviewed following the required review of the strategy in 2026.