Reparation?

What is Reparation?
Reparations designed to help the young person to put right the harm their offence has caused, either to the victim or to the community.

There are many ways they can do this, including:

• Making an apology to the victim of crime, either by letter, by video or in person
• Doing something for the victim, for example, repairing any damage that has been done
• Doing some unpaid work to help or benefit the community

Reparations defined as a set numbers of hours which are carried out voluntarily by the young person.

Reparation can either be Direct (to the victim) or Indirect (to the community).

Reparation can be classified into 5 main groups:

1. Sport: e.g. helping to coach different sports to children
2. Community work: e.g. helping out at a youth club, playclub, community centre
3. Outdoor Work: e.g. carrying out gardening for a local environmental group
4. Art/Music Related Work: e.g. designing a poster to deter other young people from offending
5. Trade: e.g. carrying out work in the trade industry such as building and maintenance, painting and decorating, carpentry.

How is it decided what Reparation the young person does?
Reparation should be a positive experience for all involved. Therefore, negative, purely punitive activities should be avoided.

Reparation should be relevant to the young person’s offence to help them to understand how they are repairing the harm they have caused.

The victim’s views on the activities the young person can do for Reparation must be taken into account and acted on where appropriate.

Reparation should be based on the young person’s strengths or interests (including employment aspiration).

What are the aims of Reparation?

• To involve and empower the victim, helping them practically and emotionally
• To offer the young person the opportunity to put rights the damage
• To help the young person develop an awareness of the impact of their actions
• To encourage understanding and breaking down of stereotypes
• To help both parties bring the incident to a close, so that they can get on with their lives
• To bring healing and forgiveness to relationships hurt by crime
• To encourage the young person to move on and avoid re-offending
• To help the young person integrate back into their local communities

Who supervises the Reparation Placement?
All activities are supervised either by a member of staff at your placement or a member of staff from the Youth Offending Service. All the supervisors are Police checked and are responsible adults.

How long will it last?
If the young person is on a referral order then their reparation will last between 6-30 hours. This must be completed during the length of the young person’s order

If they have a reparation order from court, then the number of hours will be between 6 -24 hours

For any other orders, their case manager will decide with them.

What if they are ill and can’t make the session?
The case Manager at the youth offending service should be informed straight away, before the time of the appointment. The case manager will in turn call you to inform you and advise you of alternative arrangements.

What do I have to do?
You should:
If you are interested in helping prevent young people from re-offending, then you should contact the reparation team

• The reparation team will then arrange a meeting with you to assess your potential placement and discuss any questions you may have
• A form will need to be completed for you to be added to the Youth Offending Service Reparation list
• A risk assessment will be completed

How will I know that a young person is interested in working at my venue?
A member of the Reparation Team will contact you informing you that a young person is interested in working at your venue

The worker will only disclose relevant information i.e. name, age, level of risk to your users

The worker will arrange a meeting between the worker, the young person their parents/carer and yourself. At this meeting you will be completed and signed, confirming details of times, dates and work that needs completing. A copy wil be given to all parties involved. The nature of the offence will not be disclosed due to confidentiality Regulations

What will I have to do whilst the placement in progress?
We ask the Health and Safety regulations are explained to the young person prior to them starting work

• Treat the young person the same way you would any other member of staff
• Provide any equipment that is required i.e. goggles, hard hats
• Build a rapport with the supervisor and the young person
• Advise the case manager of any concerns, or if the young person fails to attend

For further enquiries Please ask for the Reparation Team
Leicester City Youth Offending Services
Eagle House 11 Friar Lane, Leicester LE1 5RB
Tel: 0116 299 5830