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Feature - Restorative justice: Crime and consequence

5 mins read Youth Justice
The government says it wants to see a wider use of restorative justice. Jon Scott finds out what's involved and how it benefits both victims of crime and offenders.

The pleasure of chucking the stone through the porch window was fleeting for 11-year-old Jake: a tinkling noise, and a few seconds of mild excitement. For Diane, however, the effects were more acute. Her 14-month-old baby had been crawling under the window when it shattered.

She rushed her child to hospital to check for injury, then took the next day off work for a second appointment. The day after that, Diane's parents cared for the baby while she went to work, altering their plans too. So much upheaval and distress for one senseless action.

Not that Jake believed it. Or rather, not until he met Diane and heard it from her own mouth. Diane had not heard of restorative justice before, but after learning that she could express her views to Jake face-to-face, she leapt at the chance. So did eight other aggrieved members of the community, keen to convey the effects of Jake's fondness for lighting fires, bullying children and throwing stones.

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