Since 1 April 2002, under the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, first-time offenders aged 10 to 17 who admit an offence have been issued with a referral order by the courts to help them take responsibility for their behaviour. Orders are based on restorative justice, where a contract is drawn up by the young person and their parent or guardian in negotiation with a panel comprising two lay members and a member of the youth offending team. Reparation for the victim should be part of the contract.   

Offender

Last April, 16-year-old George Hoffman* and his friend, Matt Brown,* took the car that belonged to Matt's mother, Daisy,* while she was on holiday.
George says he drove the car to impress his younger friends: "Everyone else in the area drove stolen cars and I wanted to be one of the lads. The car was automatic and I thought I'd show the others I could drive it to be hard."

While driving, George felt "nervous and excited" but also concerned about breaking the law and his passenger's safety: "Matt tried to put the music on but I stopped him. I made out it was because I didn't want to draw attention to ourselves but really I just wanted to concentrate."

But draw attention to themselves they did. George and Matt were spotted driving and the police arrived at George's home. He considered jumping out of his bedroom window because he was scared but decided to face the music.

George appeared before South and West Hertfordshire Youth Court, an experience he describes as "like being in a movie, where I was the bad guy". He was worried about the punishment he would receive. He says: "My worst nightmare was being sent to a juvenile prison. I wouldn't have been able to handle it. The cells are really small and you are shut away with nothing to do."

During the hearing George apologised to the court for his actions, a move that impressed the judge who said he had never seen anyone do this before. For taking a car without the owner's consent George was handed a five-month referral order, 15 hours' community service and six points on any driving licence he obtains within three years.

As part of the referral order George had to attend a weekly addressing offending behaviour group organised by Hertfordshire youth justice services with other young people on referral orders. Initially he was reluctant to talk about his crime with others in case they made fun of him but over time they built trust. "It helped to talk to them about it openly and say what I had done without having to be all macho," George says.

A youth offender panel decided George should write a letter of apology to Brown and meet her to discuss his actions. He thought she would "start ranting and raving at me" if they met but agreed to go through with it.

George attended the meeting with Matt and his mother, his social worker and two panel members. He wore "casual smart clothes to make a good impression and show her I wasn't all bad". He did not see the meeting as a chance to justify his actions but to apologise.

He also wanted Brown to see the scenario from his point of view as he had learned to do for her. "I was quite upset that she was going through all of this because of the part I'd played," he says. "I'd thought about covering my own tracks and not what the consequences were for her."

George is grateful he went through the reparation process, although he would not want to do it again. He is pleased he has paid his dues and believes it has made him a better person.

"Numerous times people have asked me if I want to jump in a car, but I have said 'no' if it was stolen. If I don't go then neither do my friends, so I am getting them out of trouble too."

Victim

Daisy Brown* was on holiday when her ex-husband phoned to say their 14-year-old son, Matt, and his friend, George, had been spotted driving her car.

She had put the keys in a chest of drawers and had not anticipated her son removing them. "I was shocked that Matt had done this to me," she said. "He knew the car was essential in terms of me getting to and from work." Brown and her ex-husband were also concerned that George and Matt could have killed someone while driving illegally.

The two teenagers were each issued with a five-month referral order, which included the stipulation that George met Brown to apologise. She was keen to meet George again - whom she had not seen since the trial - so she could tell him about the consequences of his actions in her own words.

For a start, Brown's neighbours had complained to her private sector landlord about Matt's antisocial behaviour. The landlord served her with an eviction notice and she, Matt and her 12-year-old daughter had to leave their home. On top of this, Brown's car was written off because of the mechanical damage caused by George's driving and she had to rely on public transport.

If Brown's car had been taken by a stranger she says it may have been easier to deal with because she would not have been emotionally involved with the individual. "I had invited George into my home and he was one of my son's friends," she says.

She was nervous about meeting George. "I am not good at confrontations at the best of times," she says. But she knew George would attend the meeting with his mother and therefore she would not have to deal with any "attitude" from him. Brown was invited to speak first about how she felt and told George about the devastating impact his behaviour had had. "I just let everything out," she recalls. "My voice was cracking because seeing him again brought back the nightmare of all that had happened."

As Brown spoke she says George kept his head lowered. "Obviously he was embarrassed and ashamed and it made me think there was a scrap of decency in him." When she told George about her family being evicted she thought he looked shocked. "He didn't realise what taking my car would result in. It was really cataclysmic and led to a downward spiral of events."

Although Brown was angry with George she tried to remain coherent so he would understand her position. George is older than Matt, but Brown blames her own son more for taking her car and felt like a failure when it happened. "I wondered what I had done wrong in raising him," she says.

She recommends other victims of crime meet the young offender involved in their case if they feel able to. She feels she benefited from it and says a person needs to have "that extra something to look the offender in the eye and face their demons". Such meetings give the individual a chance to express their feelings, she says, to the person who "violated them". She adds: "It may just be a stolen handbag to the young offender but for the victim it is all the other things that come out of it." 

- For more information telephone Peace on 0151 637 6060; the Tulip Project on 0151 637 6363; and Parentline Plus on 0808 800 2222.

* All names have been changed