Proceeds of Crime to Repair Harm in Hart

HART’S Community Safety team has made a successful bid to the Community Cashback Scheme. Only three bids across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were successful in securing funding from a government initiative to use the proceeds of crime to improve communities.

Hart  is about to launch a new scheme aimed at repairing harm caused by crime by bringing harmed residents and wrongdoers  together in a professionally facilitated meeting to discuss the offence and the effect it has had on those involved.

Safer Hart’s Anti Social Behaviour Team will be managing the scheme, which will be launched early in the New Year.

Restorative practice is a fair process allowing those involved to express the emotional impact that events have had on them, look at what’s happened and more importantly, see how things can be changed and moved forward.

Details of those who will be offered the restorative approach will come from the police and other partner agencies in the district. The Hart team will then ensure that all parties are happy to be involved and fully understand the process before it is moved on.

Similar programmes are being run elsewhere in the country and results have been extremely positive. The programme has been proven to reduce re-offending rates amongst those who take part as well as reduce the fear of crime and facilitate a greater understanding between the aggrieved and the wrongdoer.

Hart is a safe place to live and residents and visitors to the district are unlikely to be affected by crime. However, the Community Safety Team continues to seek alternative ways to tackle community issues and this scheme enables a resolution whilst encouraging respect, understanding and community cohesion.

Cllr Nippy Singh, portfolio holder for Community Safety and Partnerships commented: “This is a great initiative that has proved to work very well in other communities around the country.

“I am very positive that Hart’s residents will now be able to benefit from this scheme and that it will help to reduce crime, particularly re-offending in our area even more. I congratulate all Hart officers for their hard work in securing this funding.”