Facing up to suffering of victims (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Facing up to suffering of victims

8:53am Thursday 9th February 2012 in Our View By Telegraph & Argus

The idea of making criminals face up to their acts is at the heart of the successful restorative justice scheme being run in the district at the moment.

It has already seen some offenders showing remorse and figures published in the past indicate that it may have an impact on reoffending.

One of the biggest worries about youth crime is that the teenagers who commit offences simply don’t grasp the terrible impact their actions can have on the victims. Bringing them face to face with those directly affected by their actions can help them to realise how much of an effect they have had.

Too often, those who turn to youth crime have little respect for other people’s properties and the consequences to other people of actions like damage and theft. It would therefore surely be worth looking at extending this scheme to work in a more preventative way.

The victims of crime could present their case to groups of young people in a classroom environment in areas where there is high youth offending to show them how badly they have been affected. It might make some of those tempted to take the wrong path think twice before doing so if they have seen first-hand the direct and personal consequences of crime.

Of course, there will be those for whom this will make little difference, but if it pricks the conscience of some would-be criminals, then it would have been well worth the effort.

Clearly restorative justice is working as a concept for offenders who have been caught by bringing them face to face with the consequences of their criminal action. It must be worth seeing if extending this scheme to allow victims into school classrooms as a preventative measure can have a similar impact.