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BBC Panorama shows benefits of restorative justice for victims and offenders
BBC Panorama ‘Meet the Burglars’ was broadcast on BBC One at 8.30pm, Monday 21st November 2011. The programme shows the benefits of restorative justice for victims and offenders at all stages of the criminal justice system. BBC reporter, Raphael Rowe, interviews victims and offenders before and after face to face restorative justice meetings, experts in the field and Justice Minister Crispin Blunt MP.
Corin Hammersley and Nichola Lowry were asleep when Tom broke into their home. Panorama filmed a restorative justice meeting in HMYOI Wetherby between the young women and Tom. In the meeting Nichola described how the thought that someone could be in their home without them waking up had given her sleepless nights and expressed her anger that he’d done it ‘for a laugh’. Tom apologised and told them how his own grandmother being a victim of burglary recently had helped him see the harm his actions had caused and led him agree to the meeting. Later Corin and Nichola described how this would allow them to draw a line under the incident and move on.
RJC member Remedi organised the meeting between Corin, Nichola and Tom and provided a volunteer facilitator to run the meeting. Director, Steve Jones, described how restorative justice can help victims and offenders.
‘Being offered the opportunity to ask their questions and seek an answer, which is entirely up to them if they believe, can be massively cathartic from a victim’s point of view. To hear the reality of what you’ve caused is important. To understand the devastation of what you’re actions have caused is massively important.’
Panorama also reported how restorative justice is being used by the police as an alternative to the formal criminal justice system. ACC Garry Shewan, RJC Trustee and ACPO lead for Restorative Justice, told Panorama: ‘Now we have the discretion to say, if victims think its appropriate and the offender has admitted it, then lets sit round a table and constructively deal with what happened and give victims a stronger voice in determining what the outcome should be.’
The programme featured two further interviews with victims who have met their burglar. Eva (85) was able to have a say about how the young person should serve their community sentence and tell him that she was glad he would get a second chance. Clare Tocpu met Visinel Andrei, who tied her and her son up and threatened them with a knife. She describes her anger prior to the meeting and how afterwards ‘I came out smiling for the first time in a year and a half’.
Clare gave this message for victims considering restorative justice: “Find the strength and go in there and face them. By going in there, if they do learn something and it does affect them, then our streets are a little bit safer.”
Panorama ‘Meet the Burglars’ is available on BBC i-Player for the next twelve months until Sunday 20th November 2012 at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017grkt.
RJC Director, Lizzie Nelson, contributed to a debate on Radio 5 Live Breakfast prior to the Panorama programme asking ‘Would you meet the person who burgled your home?’ Lizzie discussed the experiences of victims who have gone through restorative justice and the research evidence on reoffending. You can listen again for the next week until Sunday 27th November 2011 at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017gzx8.
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