Criminal Justice Social Work Service

West Lothian Council operates community-based Criminal Justice Social Work services throughout the council area. We are committed to promoting community safety in order to help make West Lothian an even better place to live. We provide services based in the community, which aim to increase public safety by reducing offending behaviour.

We are responsible for providing all criminal justice social work services for people resident in the council area. These include assessing the risk and circumstances of offenders in our community and in custody. Core services include: assessment reports such as Social Enquiry Reports and Home Circumstances Reports, which contribute to the decisions made by the Courts and the Parole Board as to whether an offender is able to remain in, or return to the community; supervision and monitoring of offenders placed on a range of court and post-release orders and licences, all of which are intended to reduce both risk of reoffending and risk of harmful behaviour towards others; and provision of unpaid work opportunities for people otherwise at risk of custody.

In order to achieve these aims, staff of the Criminal Justice Social Work Service work closely with other organisations. These include other areas of the council's social work services, such as Children and Families teams and services for people with mental health problems, housing providers, health services, Police and other partners in the justice system.

As part of the Lothians and Scottish Borders Community Justice Authority, we work with a number of other organisations in south-east Scotland to co-ordinate our work and to improve our practice.

How to contact us

Office address: Criminal Justice Office, Lomond House, Beveridge Square, Livingston EH54 6QF

Tel: 01506 775900

Fax: 01506 775925

Email: criminaljusticeteam@westlothian.gov.uk

The Criminal Justice Office is open to visitors from 8.30 am to 5 pm (4 pm on Fridays)

If you need to speak directly to a member of staff...

If you know who you need to speak to, please ask for that person. All staff have voicemail, and will get back to you as soon as possible. However, if you are phoning about your court order, and are told by the telephonist that the worker you have asked for is off work, you should make sure that you speak directly to someone. If you have called at a time when there is no duty worker, we may have to call you back.

There is a duty Social Worker available from 1 pm until 5 pm (4 pm on Fridays). A member of the Community Work Order Team is available to deal with enquiries about Community Service Orders or Supervised Attendance Orders from 9 am to 1 pm each day (till 4 pm on Fridays).