Restorative justice cuts youth crime

POLICE in Cheshire are continuing to expand the work they do with partners in the use of restorative justice involving young people.
They believe it works – and point to the fact that Cheshire has one of the lowest rates nationally for arrests of young people as proof of this.
Restorative Justice (RJ) is an impactive approach to dealing with offending behaviour that prevents the criminalisation of young people.
A recent report produced by an organisation seeking penal reform highlighted the work Cheshire Police and their partners have done to address offending behaviour in young people.
The introduction of the RJ approach to youth offending and its use by Youth Offending Teams in Warrington, Halton and Cheshire has developed the use of RJ in other organisations beyond the police in Cheshire.
Youth Offending Teams are made up of representatives not only from the police but from the Probation Service, Social Services, health, education, drugs and alcohol misuse and housing officers.
They believe that RJ works with young offends and reduces re-offending rates.
Representatives from a wide range of services bring together the skills and knowledge of a wide range of agencies to deal with the issues that can lie behind young people’s offending behaviour as well as measuring the risk they can pose to others. The Youth Offending Team identifies suitable programmes to address the needs of a young person with the intention of preventing further offending.
Giving something back to the community to compensate for their actions provides opportunities for young offenders to do something positive to repair the damage they have caused to either individuals or to whole community.
To show victims exactly what is involved in the RJ process so they can make an informed choice about how they want their offence to be dealt with the Halton and Warrington Youth Offending Team have produced a DVD.
Spokesman Steve Cheetham said: “The main reason for the production of the DVD was to show victims the process and to demystify what RJ is all about. We hope it will encourage more victims to choose this approach as it really works with young offenders.
“Trying to explain to victims so they understand the impact of Restorative Justice can be a challenge. The short film we have produced shows victims how they can be very much a part of the process, from start to finish. By showing victims footage of panel meetings and RJ conferencing, they are able to see for themselves how they can play their part. It shows how the process provides them with the opportunity to express how they feel and how it can help them to come to terms with what has happened to them.
“Restorative Justice is a very effective way of dealing with offences. Offenders are made to take responsibility for what they have done and victims can have a say in the outcome.”
Cheshire Police are asking people to join in the facebook discussion on RJ by posting their views on www.facebook.com/cheshirepolice
The main three crimes that account for 85 per cent of all Restorative Justice disposals are: shoplifting, minor assault and criminal damage.