VANDALISM at a Pontypridd children' centre has been dealt with by means of Restorative Justice.
Last November a group of young people caused criminal damage to the Rhydyfelin Children’s Centre in
Holly Street, Rhydyfelin, by smashing windows and lights, removing a gas meter cover, and spraying graffiti.
Following a successful police investigation five local boys aged 9 to 13 were identified by CCTV and traced.
After admitting to what they had done, and at the request of the centre manager, a Restorative Justice meeting was held with the police, the centre, the boys and their parents. It was agreed that the boys would carry out work at the centre as recompense for their actions.
The boys have now completed a total of 30 hours work at the centre in their own time carrying out chores such as litter picking, general tidying of the play area, washing windows, cleaning play equipment, planting flowers and maintaining the garden area.
They were supervised by the prevention team Sarah Franklyn and Garreg Jenkins from the council’s Youth Prevention Team and a volunteer Michaela Williams who made sure that all the work was carried out properly and that the boys took their responsibilities seriously.
PCSO Lisa Banfield from the Rhydyfelin Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “This is the first time restorative justice has been used to address criminal activity by young people in Rhydyfelin but in other areas it has been found to have a greater impact than putting offenders though the criminal justice system.
“The young people who committed the criminal damage had not been in trouble with the police previously and they have certainly learnt their lesson.
“Rather than receive punishment from the courts we felt restorative justice was a good way of preventing re-offending in the future and at the same time improve the quality of life for people living in the area.
“Restorative justice encourages young people to make the right choices in life and we will certainly be looking to go down this route in the future.”
Sarah Franklyn, Rhondda Cynon Taf’s Restorative Justice in Schools Senior Coordinator, added: “The aim of Restorative Justice is to bring together young people and the victims of their offences, who have the opportunity of deciding on the most appropriate response to a particular crime. It also brings about a positive solution to a crime and holds young offenders accountable for the consequences of their actions.”
Cllr Paul Cannon, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Safer Communities, said: “It is important for our communities to be reassured by the fact that we will always take the most appropriate action against those who have committed offences.
"In this case, we felt it was really important for the youths to understand the harm they had caused by their actions and we were able to successfully use Restorative Justice on this occasion, bringing home to them the consequences of the vandalism and, also, ensuring they complete reparations by completing unpaid work at the centre.”
Gayle Davies, manager of the centre, added: "This was the best course of action for all concerned and hopefully the youths will now have a sense of pride in this highly-valued community resource."