21 October 2008
A teenage volunteer has seen off stiff competition from police, lawyers and staff at criminal agencies across England and Wales to win the 2008 Justice Shield, the leading award for outstanding contributions to criminal justice in England and Wales.
Eighteen-year-old Matthew Entwisle from Lancaster is a volunteer police cadet. He led a project on police interaction with youths which saw police chiefs in Lancashire taking on his ideas. He also helped to raise funds for 10 cadets to be trained as mentors for young victims of crime. In total, Matthew has devoted well over 1,000 hours of voluntary work.
Matthew today received the Justice Shield was from the Attorney General, Baroness Scotland QC, at the 2008 Justice Awards presented by broadcaster Kirsty Young. The Justice Awards is supported by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Other winners across the 15 categories include:
- Wendy Afonso, a Detective Inspector in the Force Crime Unit in Merseyside Police who is retiring this year after working tirelessly with colleagues and partners across Merseyside to support witnesses.
- The Witness Service at Ipswich Crown Court whose volunteers committed an outstanding amount of work supporting witness during the case surrounding the murder of five Ipswich prostitutes by Steve Wright.
- The Together Women Project in West Yorkshire which works with female ex-offenders or women who are at risk of offending and supports them to deal with issues which trigger offending behaviour.
Matthew said:
'I can't say enough thanks to everyone. I think for every bad young person, there are many more young people who are good. Hopefully this award will encourage more people to get involved with youth work.'
The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown said:
'The Justice Awards are a chance to honour those staff and volunteers across the justice system who have dedicated so much to our communities. Their integrity, spirit, and determination are to be commended and the Awards are a great chance for us all to say thank you.'
The Attorney General, Baroness Scotland, said:
'I would like to congratulate Matthew on collecting the 2008 Justice Shield. The award recognises his hard work and dedication in providing an excellent service for young people within the justice system and for that we offer our sincerest thanks. This outstanding young man has shown himself to be forward thinking in his ideas and is an excellent role model, not just for young people, but for all volunteers.'
The Justice Awards recognises those who have gone the extra mile to help the Criminal Justice System of England and Wales to meet the needs of the communities it serves. Staff and volunteers can nominate their colleagues across police forces, the Crown Prosecution Service, courts, prison and probation services, youth offending services and charities and organisations that support victims, witnesses or offenders.
The winners were chosen by senior officials and ministers including the Home Secretary, the Justice Secretary and the Attorney General who each presented some of the awards at the ceremony held in the historic Banqueting House in Whitehall, London.
Notes
More information on the winners is available from the Justice Awards website.
The Justice Awards is part of Inside Justice Week, an annual campaign to raise public awareness of the work of the criminal justice system. Open days at courts and police stations, mock trials and other events are taking place across England and Wales.
Jpeg photographs, written quotes and mp3 audio interviews with all the winners will be available from 6pm today on the Justice Awards site - click on the winners' names on the site to access the material.
For more details, contact Peter Morris on 020 7035 8734 or via email.