Street Robbery

Jemma was referred to Restorative Solutions by Victim Services in July 2019.  She had been the victim of a robbery.  The offender – Alex – had grabbed her handbag.  When Jemma tried to pull it back, Alex had shouted at her, tried to bite her and pushed her to the ground, before running off with her bag.  

Jemma was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder following the robbery, and wanted to take back control for herself by meeting Alex in person.  She was upset by “what could have been” – she was particularly concerned about what would have happened if her young granddaughter had been with her on that day.  She wanted to be able to confront him and ask about what happened.  Her very vivid recollection was of “two big, black eyes – evil eyes.  I still see them in my mind’s eye.  They frighten me to this day.”

Facilitators met with Alex.  He was very keen to engage and had requested to take part in Restorative Justice to apologise to Jemma.  Facilitators spoke with Alex and he recognized that had caused a lot of distress and he would like to make amends for this.  He had a long history of addiction issues, which had been a contributing factor in his offending behavior.  He had completed a lot of offender behaviour work while on this sentence, and RJ was supported by his Offender Manager.  This had a positive impact on Jemma, whose stance moved from wanting to confront and reprimand him, to wanting to understand him better.  

Jemma and Alex met in September 2021 while Alex was still in prison.  Both parties had exchanged letters as part of the RJ process, and this had confirmed to both of them that they wanted to meet one another.  Alex explained the circumstances which had led to the offence, and apologised to Jemma for the harm he had caused.  He assured her that he would not have approached her if her granddaughter had been present – something that Jemma found to be a relief.  Jemma disclosed that she had her own history of addiction issues which had been exacerbated by the robbery.  Her own experiences meant that she had some sympathy with the circumstances in which Alex found himself, although she did not excuse or condone it.  The two had a very frank conversation, and found common ground in discussing coping techniques.  Jemma asked for Alex to stay in touch to let her know how he was doing, which he was happy to do.  He continues to access support, and refers to the meeting as a great motivator (“it hadn't occurred to me that anyone might have their own addiction issues…I know what I did led to a lapse for her, but that wasn't the end of her - she pulled herself back up. That gives me hope for me too.")

Jemma reported that she had gained a lot from the experience: “we ended up laughing together – I never would have imagined that would happen.”  She also noted: “those evil eyes have changed – I didn’t see them in him.  I hope they never come back.”