A scheme which sees offenders repair the harm they have caused to communities through reparative work has now had more than 500 referrals since it was launched two years ago.
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone’s Immediate Justice team has worked with more than 360 offenders from those referrals, providing an alternative to prosecution for people who have committed lower-level offences such as criminal damage, causing a public nuisance or being drunk and disorderly.
The offenders are referred to the scheme by Northamptonshire Police officers and the Youth Offending Service. They are then accompanied by Immediate Justice supervisors within the Commissioner’s office to spend a minimum of four hours carrying out community improvement work. This can include litter picking, repairing play equipment, cutting back bushes or mowing overgrown grass and painting over graffiti.
More than 1,700 hours of reparative work have been carried out at more than 80 locations in community spaces across Northamptonshire, helping to restore a sense of pride in these areas.
Of the 360 offenders who chose to engage with Immediate Justice, just 12% have gone on to re-offend, while the re-offending rate for those who chose not to engage with the scheme is 33%.
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone (pictured centre above) said: “This is another important milestone for our Immediate Justice scheme.
“They work one-on-one with offenders to make sure they understand the harm they have caused and repay that by contributing positively to our society and making our community spaces safer and more welcoming.”
The Immediate Justice scheme was launched in December 2023 as part of a Home Office pilot which has since concluded, but Danielle agreed in April 2025 to fund the scheme so that work to improve our communities can continue.
Over the last 12 months, locations benefitting from Immediate Justice work have included a bridge along the Grand Union Canal near East Hunsbury – where graffiti was removed which allowed a new wildflower mural to be painted over – and Corby Boating Lake, where several young shoplifters helped to paint benches.
Over the festive period, one offender who had been apprehended for attempted shoplifting assisted with the packaging of food for the Daylight Fellowship Food Bank in Wellingborough.
Danielle added: “Since I agreed to continue funding the Immediate Justice programme eight months ago, we have almost doubled the number of referrals we have had.
“This shows that police officers and Youth Offending Services are confident that Immediate Justice is working well as a suitable resolution for low-level offences.
“The improvements that have been made to our community spaces are a very visual reminder to members of the public that justice has been done.”
