Reparation directory benefits Warwickshire communities
Helping young people make up for the crimes they have committed is the aim of a programme of activities organised by Warwickshire’s Youth Justice Service.
The Reparation Directory lists dozens of unpaid projects that 10 to 17-year-olds can carry out to pay back for the harm they have done, either directly to the victim or indirectly through countywide projects.
These orders are known as Reparation orders – part of Restorative Justice – which can include mediation between victims and offenders and their family, or community conferences.
The restorative approach confronts and disapproves of offending and supports the young person to make amends while realising the effects of what they have done.
Currently there are around 40 projects in the Youth Justice Service’s Reparation Directory from helping with the upkeep of allotments and clearing graffiti, to conservation and citizenship.
Over the last 18 months alone, young people have successfully completed a range of tasks including replanting shrubs at a social housing project in Rugby, conserving a large piece of countryside for wildlife in Long Itchington and maintaining a sensory garden and grounds at a day centre in Bedworth.
Heather Shilling, Operations Manager for the Youth Justice Service, said: “This type of reparation has two aims – the first is to help the young person understand the consequences to their crime and make up for what they’ve done, while the second is to learn new skills that help them become positive members of the community once again.
“This in turn benefits the local community who recognise reparation as a positive way of improving their area and helping steer young people away from a life of crime.
“It is reflected in the glowing feedback that is regularly received from residents and organisations who have been involved in these reparation projects.”
To find out more about Warwickshire’s Youth Justice Service or for details of other projects included in the Reparation Directory, visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/yjs.