Greater Manchester Probation Trust

Community Payback in Trafford

Trafford Magistrates Carry Out Community Payback for Charity
 
TRAFFORD Magistrates experienced life on the other side of the dock after carrying out Community Payback alongside offenders.
 
A total of 18 JPs are litter picking in the borough as part of a sponsored event aimed at raising awareness about non-custodial sentences. All money raised is being donated to the borough’s Victim Support charity.
 
Magistrates were "signed-in" by Greater Manchester Probation Trust in the same fashion as offenders, and managed by a Community Payback Supervisor.
The event, which is taking place on three days in July, was also planned by Trafford Magistrates as way to celebrate the 650th anniversary of the magistracy in the UK.
 
Richard Monkhouse JP, a member of the Trafford bench for 13 years and a Trustee of the Magistrates Association, said: "We are very much committed to community sentences, we passionately believe that in the right circumstances these sentences achieve the best results and are capable of both punishing and rehabilitating people.
"And rather than arrange a black-tie meal to celebrate the magistracy’s anniversary we thought the best thing to do would be to get out and experience what reparations offenders are making first hand - and to raise money for such a deserving charity.
"I found it very rewarding, it’s rare that we get the chance to talk to offenders outside of the court room and it was a good opporunity to develop some understanding, as well as to experience Community Payback."
 
Steve Tandy, an offender, said: "Obviously I wouldn’t have chosen to do Community Payback, it’s been a real pain losing so much of my time, but a short prison sentence would have destroyed my business and so this has been the better option for me.
"For many people coming out from prison to come out to nothing makes it more likely they’ll repeat offend. I won’t, I’ve learnt my lesson."
 
Simi Badacahha, head of Community Payback for Manchester and Trafford, said: "The magistrates were inducted just like any offender, and issued with equipment before being taken out in the liveried van to do the work.
"I think it’s a great opportunity for the magistrates to experience what they are sentencing offenders to do, and to see how rigorously probation enforces Community Payback."
 
Community Payback Helps Rebuild Gorse Hill Allotments
 
OFFENDERS have planted the green shoots of recovery at an allotment that six months ago included some plots covered by undergrowth.
 
When Tony Gelderen became secretary of Trafford’s Gorse Hill Community Allotments, in some of the site’s untended areas brambles had grown 15ft high.
The site, off Burleigh Road, had one area that had been untended for 15 years and which had become an overgrown eyesore.
 
Community Payback is a punishment for breaking the law, rigorously supervised and enforced by probation. It is also a way for offenders to make up to the community for the harm they have done.
 
Tony contacted Trafford’s Community Payback team and since then a group of six offenders have worked each weekend to restore the allotments to their former glory.
He said: "Initially a lot of the plot owners were suspicious of the offenders, now they have become good friends.
"The work they have done is absolutely astounding, making a magnificent difference to the area. Trafford Council is also overjoyed with the work.
"It used to be a dreadful mess with brambles poking through the perimeter fencing, presenting a hazard to passers-by, now it is a beautiful cultivation and much more pleasant for neighbours to look out on."
 
Offenders have cut down the bushes and cleared the land, built a special plot for disabled people to use with raised beds at waist height and made a sturdy path to prevent any trips. They have also fixed fences and gates.
 
Tony added: "Some of the plots are owned by elderly people and the workers are particularly good with them. I can’t speak highly enough of them.
"Overall they have been extremely helpful, very polite and no trouble at all. The supervisors are excellent and make sure they are kept to task.
"I believe community payback is a good thing. The offenders have learnt a lot from it too. Two of them have put their name down for plots of their own."
Debbie Wilford, Community Payback Officer, added: "Offenders have also built a complicated greenhouse for an elderly disabled man and they have created an area for tipping weeds.
"It is a punishment, it’s hard work, but they can justifiably take pride in what they’ve done and the difference they’ve made to the area."
 
The allotment site now has 150 plots, making it among the most popular in Trafford. Tony is looking to encourage more local people to take up a plot.
 
 
Offenders Paint Altrincham FC's Ground
 
OFFENDERS have helped Altrincham FC’s ground score a new lick of paint so that the Robins will be well and truly in the red for the new season.
 
The Moss Lane outfit enlisted the help of Trafford’s Community Payback to get the job done.
Teams of up to seven offenders will be working for three weeks, painting railings, the reverse side of advertising hoardings and fences. The paint has been donated by Dulux.
 
Grahame Rowley, Altrincham’s vice-chairman, contacted Community Payback and has been delighted by the speed of the response and work’s quality.
He said: “The offenders have been working really well, and have been out in the rain doing it in tricky conditions.
“I’ve also found those I’ve spoken with to be very friendly, and they are making a tremendous difference to the ground.
“We are a community based club and rely totally upon volunteers, only the manager and a part time member of staff are paid, and we cannot afford to pay for these jobs to be done.
“During previous close seasons we’ve found getting this size of job completed to be almost impossible.”
 
The club also hosts a wide range of community groups, such as: Jo-Jo's Music Group, the Altrincham FC Junior sides, Tesco's and Altrincham FA Referees.
Mr Rowley added: “The whole community will benefit from this work, nobody wants a shabby stadium.”
Trafford’s Community Payback team is part of the Greater Manchester Probation Trust.
Debbie Wilford, Community Payback Officer, said: “Offenders are paying back in a very real way to the community against which they have offended.
“The work will also help teach them new skills and about how to work as a team. Once finished, they will also be able to take great pride in what they have achieved.”
An offender added: “It is a punishment, I’m losing my free time and it’s not much fun being here in the rain. But I like working in the outdoors and the work is a bit different.”
 
 
Community Payback helps clear snow for Trafford schools
 
Roads outside every school in Trafford are to be ploughed and gritted over the weekend, as Trafford Council prepares schools for re-opening following the heavy snowfall and subsequent icy conditions this week. On Monday morning staff from Trafford Council's front line teams will be stationed at each school to shovel any extra snow.
 
Trafford's Community Payback unit, part of Greater Manchester Probation Trust, will be providing community payback workers for three full days, from Saturday to Monday. Executive Councillor Alan Mitchell said: "This is excellent news and I'm delighted that our partners at the Probation Service have agreed to team up with us to carry out this work. Our gritting teams have been working extremely hard, 24/7, to keep the borough's roads as safe as possible in these extreme circumstances. Now, we're leading the way in starting this work outside schools in a bid to help them prepare for re-opening." Caroline Edwards, Community Payback Manager at Trafford, said: "We are delighted to help carry out work that enables schools across the borough to open, and for them to be safe places for the pupils and staff to access. The offenders have done themselves proud by the amount of hard work they have put in during freezing temperatures. They are clearly paying pack to the community against which they offended."
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