4
Jul
2017
By Calvin at 12:28 GMT, 8 years ago
I was just reading through Durham Constabulary’s new items and came across this good news story from July 1st about the effectiveness of restorative justice. Here’s the first few paragraphs, but please click the link to read the rest.
‘ARSONISTS who destroyed a popular play area have helped to fund new equipment as part of their punishment.
The fire, which happened in February, was started by three teenagers and devastated the pirate ship play area in South Park, Darlington.
As part of their punishment, the parents of the teenagers – who are all 14 – have donated money to a fundraising campaign to repair and replace the play equipment, with some of the youths taking up paper rounds to pay their parents back.
They also met with members of Darlington Borough Council and apologised for their actions, and have taken part in litter picks and weeding in South Park.
Darlington Police Neighbourhood Inspector, Chris Knox, said: “Through this process they have all learned valuable lessons in life which hopefully means they will now become upstanding members of the community.
“As part of the restorative approach, they have been working with our partners, like County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service and Darlington Youth Offending Service, to be educated on the risks of fires and realise the impact their actions had on their communities.
“The response to this offence from the community has been excellent and I’d just like to thank them for their help in identifying the offenders, and their fundraising efforts to raise money to repair the site.”'
Read the rest... https://www.durham.police.uk/news-and-events/Pages/News%20Articles/Restorative-justice-for-teenage-arsonists.aspx
Comment
Many years ago, before restorative justice became formalised, I caught two teenagers paint spraying a couple of garage doors in their neighbourhood. They were advantaged kids from good homes and so it was somewhat surprising for their parents to learn that their young lads were into graffiti. With their permission and the permission of the victims the lads repainted the defaced garage doors, plus the two next door for good measure. They made a good job of them too!
As you can imagine I’m a fan of restorative justice!
