Redcar and Cleveland is set to be one of the first councils to take part in the government’s neighbourhood crime and justice pioneer scheme.  The scheme involves strengthening Community Payback and making it more visible in the community. 

Redcar MP Vera Baird said

“It is great news we should join this scheme from the start. It is an extra link to victims of crime, with the coordinator having a duty to tell the public their rights under the new policing plan, which will enhance policing accountability. There will be a lot of impact, too, from the coordinator’s role of gearing Community Payback to the needs of the community. 

“Local people who have suffered from crime need to see that criminals are being made to work locally, on projects that the community wants and would otherwise not get. Instead of perpetrators of crime either being warehoused in prison for a short sentence or getting a fine, now they can rebuild what they have wrecked and understand that people are expected to contribute to their communities not damage them.”