VICTIMS of crime in Poole will be able to look the perpetrators in the eye under a new scheme.

Dorset’s Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill has provided funding for Borough of Poole to set up Neighbourhood Justice Panels.

It comes as International Restorative Justice Awareness Week is marked.

Restorative Justice works on the principle that victims get the chance to explain to offenders the real impact of their crime face-to-face.

It also provides offenders with a way to face up to their actions and understand effects their behaviour has had on those involved, repair some of the harm caused and can help prevent them re-offending. It is victim focussed and can be an alternative way of dealing with incidents of low level crime and anti-social behaviour, rather than going through a more formal court route.

Mr Underhill said: “I am passionate about improving the support available to victims.

“Nationally, the improvement in victim satisfaction as a result of Restorative Justice being used to deal with anti- social behaviour and crime is well documented – 85 per cent of crime victims who have been through Restorative Justice were satisfied with the process and it has also produced a 14 per cent reduction in the frequency of re-offending.

“It has also been shown to assist with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and I know that it helps victims to move on with their lives.

“Importantly, this process can also help offenders embrace victim empathy.

“I am keen to see Restorative Justice available to victims of crime in Dorset and the Poole scheme builds on the two established panels in West Dorset and Weymouth & Portland.”

Poole’s Neighbourhood Justice Panels will be face-to-face scripted meetings, during which adult offenders of low-level crime and anti-social behaviour meet with their victims.

It will be provided by a trained independent volunteer, along with a ‘co-facilitator’.

The Neighbourhood Justice Panels can also be used to deal with problems such as housing and neighbourhood disputes that are affecting lives, but where there is no clear offender and victim.

The initiative is being delivered by Safer Poole.

Anthi Minhinnick, Poole’s community safety partnership manager, said: “We are currently seeking suitable volunteers to be trained in order to prepare, support and guide individuals involved and facilitate the panels.”

Find out more at http://jobsatpoole.com