Read our Case Studies

Making amends

A young person who wanted to make amends to the Royal British Legion for damaging some trees helped raise money through a sponsored bike ride after taking part in Torbay Council's Restorative Justice process.

More than £130 was raised following the event on Saturday 23 October. The bikes were donated free of charge for the day from Forest Cycle Hire Ltd in Exeter and all proceeds were donated to the Royal British Legion Club in Newton Abbot.

The young person who organised the event cut down some trees in Courtney Park in Newton Abbot in 2009 and was sentenced to an 18 months Supervision Order.The young person met with a Torbay Council representative and decided they wanted to make amends to the British Legion which had donated the trees.

The young person said: "At first I didn't want to meet a council representative because I was scared of what they might do or say to me. However, after meeting with him I was shocked, because he told me about the impact of my actions on the community. I didn't know the trees were planted in memorial of the Battle of Trafalgar.

"I did this bike ride because I felt ashamed and guilty and I wanted to give something back to the Royal British Legion and the community. I hope that by doing this the Royal British Legion will forgive me and will see that I am trying to make up for the damage I caused. Since this has happened my behaviour has changed and I hope people can see that."

Talking it through

In this case study a female youth was assaulted by the offender. An apology was given at a referral panel meeting and the victim had a chance to have her questions answered. The offender explained she felt ashamed by her behaviour but is determined to stay out of trouble. The victim felt she was now able to move on from the offence and was pleased she had an opportunity to have her thoughts and feelings heard.

The importance of history

In this case a young male broke into the local crematorium and caused some damage to a memorial headstone and some fixtures and fittings. A face-to-face meeting was conducted with the crematorium and the offender was able to hear the true extent his actions caused the victim and community. He was surprised to learn about the historical value of the building and the symbolic importance to the local community. The victim was pleased they were able to address the offender directly and educate him about the impact of his behaviour.

Anger management

In this case a young male in residential care lost his temper and broke several items within the home to the value of £276. A restorative meeting took place between two of the care staff and the offender. A mediation agreement was produced and signed by both parties. It involved the offender apologising to the care staff, undertaking anger management work, implementation of a ‘time out’ system to help control his anger and to carry out unpaid work to benefit of the community.