Part of the East of England Co-op, Co-op Secure Response has partnered with Suffolk County Council Youth Offending Service and partners to show people aged 18 and under the consequences of their behaviour through one-to-one restorative justice.
According to a recent survey by Co-op Secure Response, over two fifths of Suffolk-based businesses have experienced anti-social behaviour in the past year. Given such concern across the region, Co-op Secure Response has been working to reduce anti-social behaviour in Suffolk through restorative justice. Since the participants’ completion, Suffolk Constabulary has reported that only one of the 15 young people went on to reoffend in the following three months.
Scott Walker, Anti-Social Behaviour Officer at the Co-op says: “We start the programme by sitting down with the young person and their Support Worker in a calming, neutral environment that allows us to get to know one another. Once the participant has been put at ease, we talk about the East of England Co-op and its ethical values as well as different departments in the business.”
After an introduction, Scott talks to the young person about their offence, often showing them CCTV footage of their crime.
“This is a key part of the process as it allows the participant to reflect on their actions and really get to grips with the repercussions of their offence. Each person responds differently to this stage in the programme, but they all have an opportunity to empathise with the colleagues that either witnessed their offence or were affected by it.”
The young person is then shown Co-op Secure Response’s monitoring and alarm receiving centre (ARC). Entirely self-sufficient, with its own servers and power supplies, the ARC monitors over 6000 CCTV cameras, besides GPS tracking devices, lone workers, alarms and gates.
“The participant is often very interested in the technology that supports our team. Their eyes light up when they see the ARC for the first time and they have lots of questions about how it all works.”
The programme will finish with time to discuss the participant’s future and potential career paths.
“We want to help the young person realise that they can have a career that they are passionate about if they work hard and remain on the right side of the law. We talk through their interests and see if there are any departments within the East of England Co-op that they can chat to, or even receive internal training from, to help kick-start a career.”
The East of England Co-op has provided two young people with job opportunities in its stores, one of the young people is still working in the business as a Customer Support Assistant. Co-op Secure Response adds that it works with HM Prison Service giving prisoners chance to gain experience and new skills to allow for settlement into the community.
Scott adds: “Our restorative justice course has been held in high regard by the courts services, and we have actually given talks across Britain. It is very rewarding to work on a programme that provides value to the participants, as well as to local communities which benefit from a lower level of anti-social behaviour.”
Co-op Secure Response has teamed up with Suffolk Council, Suffolk Chamber of Commerce and Suffolk Constabulary to provide a conference on anti-social behaviour for local businesses at Wherstead Park on Tuesday, January 29. Those interested in attending can book at www.secureresponse.coop/booktoday.
