CLACKMANNANSHIRE'S community justice partnership has received high praise from the Care Inspectorate after a rigid inspection process.

The justice partnership, which aims to reduce crime and address the causes of crime has undertaken a validated and supported self-evaluation with the Care Inspectorate finding "a shared commitment and common drive to achieve excellence".

Inspectors in the report said: "We are confident the partnership is well placed to establish a shared culture of continuous improvement as they strive to achieve excellence in the implementation and delivery of the community justice model."

The exercise, which took place between November 2018 and February 2019, focused on three specific quality indicators: planning and delivering services in a collaborative way, effective use and management of resources and leadership of strategy and direction.

Also noted within the report is that the partnership has delivered two plans which demonstrate real progression and evolution in collaborative working between partners which include: Clackmannanshire Council, Police Scotland, Scottish Prison Service, NHS Forth Valley among many others.

Several innovative approaches and models have been effectively used by partners to consult and engage individual service users, staff and members of the local community in shaping the planning and delivery of services.

There is clarity of role and purpose among community justice partners and leaders with a clear strategic connection between developing work and partnership achievements to date. Supported by an 'Ambassador Toolkit' of relevant data and research, partners and political leaders disseminate the vision and represent the work of the community justice partnership within their respective organisations, agencies and communities.

Council leader Ellen Forson said: "We are delighted to have received such positive feedback from the Care Inspectorate.

"We work closely with our partners to deliver a connected smart justice system which is built on sound research evidence.

"Our innovative projects, including the Resilience Learning Partnership which supports people with lived experience of trauma to influence improvement in wider services, make a real difference and we are glad that as part of this process, our self-evaluation of the service has been recognised."