Sheriff Joseph C Hughes was invited to chair the conference following his recent visit to justice services to meet staff and service users.

He welcomed keynote speakers Karyn McCluskey, Chief Executive of Community Justice Scotland, James Docherty, Policy Advisor for Community Justice Scotland and Iain Smith, leading trauma informed solicitor in Scotland. All three speakers delivered motivational inputs on the conference theme 'The Strength of Relationships'.

He said: “It was a privilege for me to be part of the council’s 2022 Digital Justice Conference. It gave me an invaluable insight into the excellent work of multiple Justice Partners.  The Judiciary is but one partner. I look forward to strengthening all our relationships in the future. As Helen Keller said: ‘alone we can do so little; together we can do so much’.

“I wish North Lanarkshire Council’s Justice Social Work Services and its many partners every success for 2023.”

St Brendans Primary School choir and The NL Creative Arts team also performed at the conference and were joined by Councillor Angela Campbell, Convener of Education and Families and Derek Brown, Deputy Chief Executive of North Lanarkshire Council.

Councillor Campbell said: “Through collaboration and networking at events such as this, we can work together to identify new ways of working to improve service delivery for the people we aim to support.”

The Justice Conference had a strong digital format and used interactive software throughout the day to increase delegate participation and to capture important feedback from staff.

One of the topics discussed was restorative justice and a recent report has highlighted that people undertaking community payback orders in North Lanarkshire completed 53,464 hours of unpaid work hours between March 2021 and April 2022.

Community Payback Orders were initially introduced in 2011 and provide an alternative to custody with the intention of ensuring that people who are convicted of offences make restitution to the community and engage in services which support their rehabilitation and social inclusion.

Delegates heard about the wide range of activities undertaken and about some of the challenges caused by the recent health pandemic.

One successful project is the Restorative Justice bicycle workshop, which has seen 203 bikes distributed to people in communities across the area; particularly benefiting children, young people, and families who are unable to afford the cost of a bike or its repair. 

The service has also given help to local communities by offering bike maintenance and repair. 

Bikes have also been given to victims of bike theft, particularly those who had no insurance or the financial means to replace the stolen item.

Other Examples of the variety of other unpaid work projects include:

• The wood workshop which has made items for community groups such as outdoor classrooms and activity equipment for schools, and planters for sheltered housing complexes. 
• The laundry workshops, which have continued to work in partnership with the local school uniform banks and the Diamonds in the Community charity. 
• The activity group made craft items which were donated to local organisations or sold at craft fayres with the money raised donated to local charities. 
• Squad placements within the local community included landscaping, groundwork, and small building projects. 
• Private placements took place in local churches, allotments, sheltered housing complexes and charity shops 
• Home working continued to be used alongside community projects for those completing unpaid work. 

 The following items are examples of the objects made and distributed. 

• 154 rags to rugs were donated to the SSPCA, Food banks and the Dogs Trust 
• 236 Bird and Bat boxes were made and given to local communities. 
• 153 positive mental health and eco environmental and anti-bullying plaques were made and displayed in prominent places.

In the spirit of integrative practice, the restorative justice team are also upgrading St Brendan's playground area within the school as a gesture of thanks for the children's fantastic performance at the conference.

This will create active learning areas in the schools outdoor spaces to support the children's learning. A great example of community payback and the 'Strength of Relationships'.