Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone’s Immediate Justice Team has tidied up overgrown pathways surrounding Northampton town centre to improve visibility and help people feel safer.
Immediate Justice tackles anti-social behaviour by enabling police officers to refer individuals who have committed low-level crimes and requires them to complete practical, community focused work that delivers justice through repairs.
Eleven offenders have completed more than 50 hours of reparative work clearing the River Nene paths in Northampton, stretching from Rushmere Road all the way to Towcester Road, taking in Midsummer Meadow and Becket’s Park along the way.
Their tasks included cutting back walkways, picking litter and restoring well-used routes into the town centre so that students, residents and visitors can feel safer when walking around their neighbourhoods.
The offenders had been referred to the Immediate Justice team for crimes including assault, possession of drugs, criminal damage, malicious communications and unlawfully riding an e-scooter and have now served their penalty by making visible improvements that will benefit the community.
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone said: “Immediate Justice demonstrates that anti-social behaviour has real consequences in Northamptonshire.
“By making sure that those who cause harm through their behaviour take responsibility and contribute positively to our communities, we are showing residents that justice can be done for even low-level crimes.”
The summer’s work follows previous Immediate Justice activity in Northampton – including in the Market Square, St Katherine’s Gardens and along Walter Tull Way – that has contributed to just under 3,000 hours of reparative work being completed by over 600 offenders across Northamptonshire since 2023.
The programme has also helped to reduce reoffending locally. Just 12% of offenders who completed an Immediate Justice penalty between December 2023, and March 2025 went on to reoffend in Northamptonshire, compared to 33% of those who refused to take part in the programme.
