Long visits Omagh Community Service Project
Date published:
Justice Minister Naomi Long today visited Mullaghmore and Castleview Community Resource Centre (MACCA) in Omagh.
A longstanding partner of the Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI), the Mullaghmore facility includes a community garden, eco centre and safe play area as well as allotments for hosting Men’s Shed, conservation volunteers and local college groups. During the visit the Minister met with PBNI Community Service staff and saw at first hand the restorative element of community service taking place.
Naomi Long said: "It was impressive to hear from a number of people who had been sentenced to a Community Service Order and are making reparation for the harm they have caused by undertaking unpaid work in the community. Working alongside probation they are being held to account but also supported to make changes to their lives.
“Community service is a practical and visible way for people who have offended to give back, learn new skills and become rehabilitated within the local community.
“Importantly in some cases, victims of crime can also have a say in the type of work that people sentenced to community service carry out.”
Amanda Stewart Chief Executive PBNI, said: “We currently supervise approximately 1,000 people subject to Orders with a Community Service element across Northern Ireland. Three out of four people who complete a Community Service Order do not go on to reoffend within a year. Those who undertake community service also tell us that it helps them develop skills which enable them to seek future employment and helps them move away from criminality. This sentence provides important opportunities for people to become rehabilitated and desist from crime.”
WATCH: Justice Minister visits Mullaghmore and Castleview Community Resource Centre
As part of a series of engagements in Omagh, the Justice Minister also visited Omagh PSNI station where she met officers at the forefront of local policing. In a meeting with Omagh District and Solicitors Associations she discussed the Enabling Access to Justice (EAJD) Reform Programme. And later the same day met with Peter and Niamh Dolan, whose son Enda was knocked down and killed in a drink-driving accident, to outline plans to introduce the Sentencing Bill by Autumn 2025.
Notes to editors:
- Photo caption: L-R Gillian Montgomery Director of Operations Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI), CEO PBNI Amanda Stewart, Justice Minister Naomi Long, PBNI Area Manager Colum Duffy and PBNI Assistant Director Jill Grant pictured at Mullaghmore & Castleview Community Resource Centre (MACCA) in Omagh during a visit to PBNI and its community partners
- Probation supervises community-based sentences, where a person is sentenced by the court to an Order that is to be completed in the community. There are a range of community-based sentences, some of which have a Community Service element where the person under supervision must complete a specified number of hours within the community, completing unpaid work for the benefit of local communities across Northern Ireland.
- Community Service is one of the most successful court sentences in terms of preventing reoffending. Three out of four people who complete community service do not re-offend within one year. It is a visible and practical method of ensuring those being supervised pay something back to the community.
- Community Service helps those being supervised to develop practical and social skills to help them avoid crime in the future. Community Service is effective in reducing reoffending and benefiting the community.
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