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Top UK award for a unique Scottish service that repairs the harm caused by offenders.

The Aberdeen Community Based Reparation Service has received an “Outstanding Scheme” award from the Howard League for Penal Reform. Representatives from Sacro received the award at a ceremony in the House of Lords today (24 June).

The Community Based Reparation (CBR) Service was established in Aberdeen in May 2004. The service is managed by Sacro, Scotland’s leading community justice organisation and funded by the Scottish Government through Aberdeen City Council’s “Building Strong, Safe and Attractive Communities” Initiative.

CBR gives the person harmed by a crime a voice in how they would like the harm caused to them to be addressed. Young people and adults accused of crime are given the opportunity to take responsibility, apologise and take some action to repair the harm caused by their behaviour.

CBR becomes appropriate, within the restorative justice process, when all parties agree that the person responsible for an offence could repair the harm caused by undertaking some voluntary work, either directly for the person harmed or indirectly within the local community. This voluntary work is called a reparative task and it focuses on repairing the harm.

A Sacro CBR worker facilitates this part of the restorative justice process by ensuring the negotiation, monitoring and administration of the reparative task. They provide appropriate support and supervision to enable the client to complete the task and ensure that all health and safety requirements are fulfilled for any work undertaken by a service user.

Sacro’s Chief Executive, Susan Matheson said:

“I am delighted that this innovative and successful Sacro service has been recognised by the Howard League for Penal Reform. Aberdeen is in the unique position of being the only local authority in Scotland with such a service. It has the opportunity to develop and lead this approach further locally by widening the referral route. Now that the Scottish Government is advocating more use of reparative community disposals, this service is a model of good practice for elsewhere in Scotland.”