Celebrating the individuals and teams integral to our criminal justice system

Standing shoulder to shoulder with the UK’s warranted police officers in the fight against crime is a vast army of co-workers in policing, in probation, in our prisons and in our courts.

These hardworking and talented people are key to the smooth running of the criminal justice process, maintaining public trust and ensuring public safety daily through their actions.

At every step of the way, from arrest and investigation through to sentencing and rehabilitation these talented and hardworking teams and individuals ensure that justice is done.

Without them, the criminal justice system in this country – the envy of the world for hundreds of years – would simply cease to function.

To shine a light on and celebrate the teams and individuals who seldom get the recognition they deserve, Skills for Justice, in partnership with UNISON, NAPO and Policing Insight, has launched the inaugural Inspire Justice Awards.

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Across 10 award categories, the Inspire Justice Awards will recognise the outstanding achievements of workers in the justice sector and staff in policing:

• Police Staff Member of the Year – sponsored by UNISON
• Probation Staff Member of the Year – sponsored by UNISON
• Custody and Detention Staff Member of the Year
• Prosecution, Courts and Tribunals Staff Member of the Year – Sponsored by NAPO
• Apprentice of the Year – sponsored by SFJ Awards
• Best Newcomer Award
• Voluntary Contribution to Community Safety & Justice
• Learning and Development Programme
• Health and Wellbeing Employer
• Inclusion and Diversity Initiative

As the Sector Skills Council for Justice, Skills for Justice is a vocal champion of the community safety and criminal justice workforce and are launching these awards to say ‘thank you’ to all those who have gone above and beyond to make a difference to the lives of survivors and those in rehabilitation.

How do I get involved?

Nominations will go live on 22nd June and are welcomed from across the community, including friends, family and colleagues of the outstanding individuals and teams that inspire justice in their daily working lives.

A panel of experts in custody and detention, prosecutions, policing and more, will whittle down the longlist of entries to a shortlist of finalists They will be celebrated and recognised at a special awards ceremony to be held at Birmingham Botanical Gardens this Autumn.

In addition to nominating the outstanding teams and individuals that inspire justice in your communities, the inaugural Inspire Justice Awards offers businesses and organisations in the justice sector the opportunity to raise their profile and show their support for justice sector workers.

With sponsorship packages starting at just £225, as a supporter of Inspire Justice Awards you will have the opportunity to associate your brand with the only awards programme of its kind and reach an audience of over 54,000 professionals in policing and the justice sector.

Organised by the team behind our sister brand Skills for Health’s Our Health Heroes Awards, which played host to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and hit the national headlines earlier this year, the inaugural Inspire Justice Awards looks set to be a runaway success.

Ben Priestley is National Officer for Policing and Probation at UNISON – the largest public sector union which represents 40,000 members in the sector. He explains why they’re happy to be involved:

“We’re proud to be working with Skills for Justice to celebrate the work of police and probation staff, who make a real difference to preventative and rehabilitative measures in community safety and justice. The Inspire Justice Awards shine a light on the thousands of individuals in roles that can often go unnoticed, but who make an impact on the lives of millions.”

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