Yobs will be hauled before ‘street court’
Vandals made to apologise to panel of neighbours
ANTI- SOCIAL behaviour could be punished within the offender’s community, by making them come face to face with their victims in front of a panel of their neighbours.
Instead of receiving an endless string of police warnings or cautions, yobs and vandals will be hauled before new neighbourhood justice panels.
Once there, they will be required to apologise and to make amends for their crimes by repairing any damage they have caused, such as by painting over graffiti.
Ministers hope that local justice conducted within communities and involving ‘visible reparation’ will make young offenders less likely to return to crime.
Two-year pilot schemes in three areas – South Somerset, Sheffield and Norfolk – began last year. A further 15 panels, run by community volunteers,
‘Early and effective justice’
will be established across England and Wales in coming months.
Justice Minister Nick Herbert said: ‘We want to ensure that justice is swift and sure and that offending is nipped in the bud.’ He said the volunteer-run panels would mean ‘ more early and effective justice that requires the offender to confront their victim, apologise and make amends’.
‘We are most definitely not encouraging people to take the law into their own hands, but we do want them to get involved in law and order at a local level in a meaningful and responsible way,’ he added.
Cases of criminal or antisocial behaviour, such as minor criminal damage or public disorder, will be referred to the panels by police or councils.
The so-called ‘street courts’ could also be used to address ‘nuisance neighbour’ disputes.
Under the pilot schemes, violent offences, such as common assault, were explicitly barred, as were domestic violence and dishonesty crimes.
Referral will only be an option if the offender has admitted their guilt to the authorities.
Victims will also be given a right to veto the process and insist on formal action. At the end of the process, victims and offenders sign up to an agreement setting out the apology or reparation. If it is broken, the case can be referred back to the authorities.
In Sheffield, the pilot panel, which uses 40 volunteers and case workers, deals with around 20 cases each month.
Heather Bailey-wright, community justice team coordinator at Sheffield Council, said they aim to secure ‘reparation’ for the damage done.
‘This could be a verbal apology or warning, an assurance not to do it again or community service,’ she said. Some prison reform campaigners say informal penalties are preferable for young offenders as they avoid a criminal record.
But magistrates warned there could be a ‘ lack of transparency’.
last night experts also raised fears the panels could be used to process more serious offenders – or that repeat offenders could escape proper justice.
John Fassenfelt, chairman of the Magistrates’ Association, said: ‘[The panels] will not, as I understand, be open to the public.
‘I would argue that if a crime has been committed, it’s always in the public interest to prosecute. The public should be able to see justice being done.’
Dr David Green, director of the Civitas think-tank, said: ‘This gives the police a way of educating young people about right and wrong without having to use more serious criminal justice powers.
‘Of course if it doesn’t work we have to get more serious. The danger is this gets used over and over again for people who think it’s a joke.’
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘We want to re-energise our justice system at a local level and reconnect it to the communities it serves.’