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Old Bailey Mental Health Liaison Team wins national award
A team from the Central Criminal Court won the top award, the Lord Chancellor's Award, at Her Majesty's Courts Service National Awards ceremony at the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, London.
The Mental Health Liaison Scheme team, made up of Tracy Hyde and Ian Tozer, was selected as the overall winner of all categories. The team also won the Diversity Team category. Its work benefited not only HMCS but also the NHS and Prison Service. Hyde and Tozer developed a pilot scheme which is extremely well regarded and has enhanced the reputation of HMCS.
The team secured funding for the project and built strong, effective relationships between the judiciary and the on-site NHS team. Its work has made a considerable difference to the effectiveness of trials. Cases are now resolved more quickly with targeted psychiatric reports and fewer court hearings.
The Justice Secretary Jack Straw said:
"I am tremendously pleased to recognise the achievements of the Mental Health Liaison Scheme and the work of Tracy Hyde and Ian Tozer. Their scheme was described by the Old Bailey Recorder as 'the success of the year'. I have seen firsthand the enormous difference this kind of work can make to communities through helping offenders to reform and turn away from crime.
"Congratulations to Tracy and Ian, and to everyone who participated in this year's awards."
HMCS Chief Executive Chris Mayer said:
"Our annual awards ceremony highlights the very best practice to be found within HMCS and I am hugely impressed to see so much innovation, enthusiasm and ability to do a first class job under pressure.
"The courts are where most people first come into contact with justice system, whether to resolve a family dispute, enforce their rights as a consumer or employee, claim compensation, give evidence as a witness of crime, or be brought to justice as an offender. The work of the HMCS Awards winners has an enormously positive impact on people's experiences."
Tracy Hyde said:
"We're really honoured and very proud and we feel valued as part of HMCS."
The category winners of this year's HMCS awards were:
OVERALL AWARD
Lord Chancellor Award
Mental Health Liaison Scheme (Tracy Hyde and Ian Tozer) Central Criminal Court and winner in the Diversity Team category
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS WINNERS
Community Engagement
Peter Mayoh, Legal Advisor, Rochdale, Middleton and Heywood
Magistrates' Court.
As lead legal advisor for
Community Engagement and Community Justice, Peter Mayoh's
work routinely raises the profile of Rochdale, Middleton and
Heywood Magistrates' Court and the criminal justice
system. His inspiring and energetic work generates positive
stories in the local press and letters of appreciation from the public.
He has been involved in community events such as acting as a judge in regional heats of the Citizen's Foundation sponsored mock trial competition. He organises magistrates' involvement in community forums, identifies audiences for debates, arranges community engagement boards and manages publicity. Staff have also benefited from his in-court directory, his links with the community and his problem-solving team.
Customer Service
Anne Dawson, Usher Manager and Witness Liaison Officer, Hull
Combined Court Centre
Anne took full responsibility for
supporting an elderly lady in giving evidence via remote link from
home and making sure that the court did everything possible to
support her ability to give evidence.
Anne made sure an usher would visit the witness in advance of the trial, that she would be looked after on the day, that her daughter would be able to be with her when the equipment was fitted and that she received all possible reassurances and follow-up calls.
Innovation
Adrian Palmer, Northampton Senior Enforcement Manager,
Northampton Magistrates Court.
As chair of the Regional
Innovation Group, Adrian has taken a lead role in developing three
significant programmes that have made a difference to tackling the
number of fine defaulters in the Midlands.
Adrian has made a real difference to how compliance for first time fine defaulters is achieved across the Midlands. He led the development of an IT programme that uses Libra - a national case management system - to identify non-payment at key stages. He also produced the How to get the best out of Libra guide. These innovations have been taken up at national level as best practice standards.
Inspirational Leadership
Adrian Draper, Court Manager, Birmingham Crown Court,
Adrian
manages the 16 courtroom Birmingham Crown Court and for six months
he also took on management of Birmingham Magistrates'
Court with responsibility for a further 80 staff. During that time
he brought a fresh culture to the magistrates' court.
Adrian fostered an environment that is upbeat and positive and his dynamic leadership brought excellent working relationships with staff and judicial partners.
Staff members at the Crown Court are enthusiastic with high performance results. Under Adrian's leadership the Crown Court was shortlisted in the Birmingham Best Business Award for work-life balance.
Skills and Development
Lynda Woodford, Area IT Support Manager, Southend
Magistrates' Court.
Lynda's dedication to
training and development made her a role model as an IT
specialist. She set up a single area IT helpdesk to support all
Crown, county and magistrates' courts. She has supported
a number of court moves and estate projects, oversaw the
introduction of secure email and supervised the establishment of
the national case management system, Libra, across three counties.
She played a key part in making savings and improving services.
Diversity
Diana Edwards, Court Manager and Equality & Diversity
Champion for South East Wales.
Diana is the vice-chair of HMCS
Wales Diversity Network as well as treasurer to the South East
Wales Equality Network and her work makes a significant
contribution to raising staff awareness of diversity across HMCS
Wales. She produces a newsletter on diversity issues and organises
many events for staff and the community (public, private and
charitable bodies).
Diana set up a conference to promote new ways of combating all forms of discrimination for people with disabilities; she makes presentations to community groups; organises work experience placements to encourage younger members of the community to take an interest in the court; and is now working on an event to address human rights and transgender issues.
TEAM AWARDS
Community Engagement
Community Justice Centre Team, North Liverpool Community Justice
Centre.
Responding to advice from their local community, the
team has engaged with a younger audience and worked even more
closely with criminal justice colleagues and stakeholders.
The team has engaged with over 20,000 people in the last year, has established a column in the local press publicising sentences and is receiving excellent feedback from the community it serves.
Feedback from the public demonstrates again and again that the team's work in some of the most socially deprived neighbourhoods in the UK is appreciated. Through its work the profile of the court has been increased via participating in festivals and parades, attending residents' meetings and connecting with schools.
The team's programme for schools ranges from teacher training events to workshops and dramas which illustrate difficult issues such as domestic violence, gang culture and knife crime. The team has also hosted a delegation from an international youth conference and has organised events at the court such as 'You Be The Judge' which demonstrates sentencing policy.
Customer Service
Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire Customer Service Action
Team. Joint Winners.
Members of the team have been working
across all 33 sites in the Area to put customers at the heart of
the service. They have studied the needs and experiences of court
users to improve services and inform staff training.
The team showed exceptional effort and enthusiasm in using new ways of working. They have established thriving and effective partnerships in all three counties which helped them achieve high quality customer service.
Their work helped the area achieve a Customer Service Excellence accreditation and an 'Excellent' rating in the MORI Court User Survey.
National Taxing Team, Joint Winners.
The NTT approve certain claims for costs made to the Crown Court. This enthusiastic and innovative team has continuously improved the service they provide their work has also saved time and costs.
They were awarded the Customer Service Excellence accreditation with a recommendation to the Cabinet Office that the work they had done be used as a case study in best practice.
Innovations
South East Lean Team.
The team broke new ground in developing the concept of Lean management techniques - a tool to help organisations spot and tackle waste and encourage employees to identify improved ways of working.
The team played a key role in shaping the strategy for a Lean Academy and for national implementation, as well as supporting other regions in developing their Change Agents. With their energy and creative thinking in the early stages, this team played a crucial role in introducing Lean into HMCS.
Notes to Editors:
1. Her Majesty's Courts Service is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. Our remit is to deliver justice effectively and efficiently to the public. We are responsible for managing the magistrates' courts, the Crown Court, county courts, the High Court and Court of Appeal in England and Wales.
2. The HMCS National Awards are designed to recognise HMCS staff who display qualities as having an exceptional ability to engage and involve local communities, a strong commitment to supporting customers, pioneering new ways of working and having exceptional leadership skills.
3. For further details on the awards and nominations please call Tania Shillam, HMCS Senior Press Officer on 020 7340 6698.
Contact: Tania Shillam
HMCS Press Office
020 3334 6698
Contacts:
NDS Enquiries
Phone: For enquiries please contact the above department
ndsenquiries@coi.gsi.gov.uk
