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Winning the fight for justice

The Justice Awards were presented at an event led by BBC Crimewatch presenter, Matthew Amroliwala, as part of Inside Justice Week 2009. The winners were selected from almost 900 nominations from across the CJS. People and teams working or volunteering in the following areas of the CJS were eligible:

• the police
  
• the court service
  
• the Crown Prosecution Service
  
• prisons
  
• probation
  
• youth justice

The Club and Ozbox

Amy Hillier from Bristol secured the Justice Shield for her project, The Club, which runs activities for young people from deprived local council estates.

The winner of the People's Award is Steve Osbaldeston, a police sergeant who set up Ozbox, a non-contact boxing and fitness activity for young people. Sessions are run by trained volunteer tutors in schools, behaviour support units and community venues. More than 700 Ozbox sessions have been run, reaching over 50,000 youngsters.

Among those who took part was a 16-year-old boy on bail for robbery, who might have become a prolific offender without Ozbox. He turned up every week as part of a community order, and went on to join a boxing club. He now trains others, has fought for Britain five times and had a chance of qualifying for the Olympics.

Full details of the winners may be found at CJS Online by following the link below.

• The Justice Awards Opens new window

Further information

• Crime and justice (young people section)

• Leisure (young people section)

• Support for relatives of prisoners (crime and justice section)

• Applying to become a magistrate (crime and justice section)