The Community Justice (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 11 February 2016, receiving Royal Assent on 21 March 2016 making it The Community Justice (Scotland) Act 2016.
This will see the disestablishment of Scotland’s 8 Community Justice Authorities on 31 March 2017, with the establishment of a national body (Community Justice Scotland), and arrangements for local strategic planning and delivery of community justice being undertaken within local Community Planning Partnership structures. This legislation seeks
to establish:
“A new model for community justice, which puts local delivery, partnerships and collaboration at its heart”.
Building on the strength of the partnerships developed through the South West Scotland Community Justice Authority, it was decided that the best way to take community justice forward under the new arrangements would be to adopt a pan-Ayrshire approach. Shadow arrangements for the transition towards the new ‘Community Justice Ayrshire’ commenced in April 2016, and work has begun on developing a Community Justice Outcome Improvement Plan (CJOIP), which will take an asset based approach to delivering community justice outcomes.