Justice does not just have to be done, it has to be seen to be done! When people break the law they need to do something to pay back the community for the harm they have done and local people, and especially the victims of crime, want to see offenders making restitution and want to have a say in the work they are doing.

This is where Community Payback and Thanet’s role as a Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Pioneer Area comes in. In future, people given community sentences in our community will be expected to serve their sentence doing something visible to the public and, this month, we can even vote for the project we want to see being done first!

Will you vote for an extensive ‘deep clean’ of Broadstairs and St Peters Churchyard to remove the litter, fly tipping and graffiti? Or do you want to see work done in Dane Valley where the children’s play park could be given an extensive clean up by offenders?

Offenders could also be put to removing litter, graffiti and abandoned furniture around Newington if that scheme wins your support or you could vote for offenders to spend time maintaining Northdown Park in Cliftonville or Dane Park in Margate.

To cast your vote, go on line to communitypayback.direct.gov.uk before April 24th!

Thanet people expect a justice system that is fair and open with effective punishments handed out to criminals. Community payback is just that.

Readers may already have seen offenders involved in this project carrying out community sentences in the area as they now have to wear high visibility orange jackets. It is not about humiliating offenders, there is no humiliation in doing honest work to pay for a mistake that you have made, it is about justice being seen to be done.

And what is wrong with asking local people to express a view about which projects should be the first to be tackled? After all, we are all victims of vandalism and graffiti and other crimes of anti social behaviour as they make our community a less pleasant place to live and the repairs and clean up add to our council tax bills.

As a pioneer area for this scheme Thanet has an early chance to be involved. The public expect their money to be spent on effective punishments and community payback is hard physical work that takes away offenders free time – and now you can vote to choose just how offenders pay back the neighbourhoods they wronged. Over to you!