Putting victims at the heart of everything we do

The Essex Restorative and Mediation Service (ERMS), which helps to hold offenders to account for their actions and to take responsibility for the harm they have caused, is celebrating its fifth year of helping victims of crime.

Based within our office, the ERMS works hand in hand with organisations such as the police, prisons and victim services. Putting the victim at the centre of what it does, the service gives victims the chance to have their say, have questions answered and potentially even meet the person who caused them harm.

Roger Hirst, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said “Our service makes a real difference to people’s lives. Feedback from victims who have used the service show that they are better able to move on with their lives and would highly recommend the service to others.”

The service recently released its annual report for the year 2019/20 focusing on effective service delivery; re-offending data; raising awareness; valuing volunteers and future developments.

You can read it here: 2020714 ERMS final annual report V1.1

Nikki Essex, Restorative and Mediation Service Manager, said: “Whilst Restorative Justice (RJ) has been around for a number of years, we have recently seen it really grow and prove just how valuable it can be in a number of situations. From low level theft all the way up to homicide, the benefits for everyone involved are incredible. When we receive such positive feedback from service users, it’s a great feeling and reminds us why we do what we do.

“Looking at the re-offending data we can tell that positive use of the service by offenders has a direct impact on their levels of reoffending. If offenders engage with the service, they are less likely to reoffend.”

The service has 40 volunteers who have logged more than 900 hours since April 2019. They have completed further training enabling them to take on an array of cases including complex and sensitive cases.

In line with the previous year, most of the referrals into the service came from the police (247). Referrals were also received from other organisations such as councils and housing associations, as well as self-referrals and victim agencies. The service has been busy strengthening its relationship with external partners and agencies, spreading the word about Restorative Justice through awareness sessions, strategic meetings and attending various events across the county. The team has also presented at schools and universities and has been approached to take part in research projects. There are now several case studies published on www.restorativeessex.co.uk to highlight some of the work that has been done.

Nikki said: “Our next area of focus is to grow the number of referrals we get for cases that have been sentenced in court. These tend to be the more serious offences and can include assaults, domestic abuse and even murder. We know RJ can work for just about any offence, and with only seven per cent of our referrals being post-sentence this is an area we can focus on growing. The Victim’s Code states that every victim should have the opportunity to take part so it’s important that victims have equal access to Restorative Justice at all stages of the criminal justice system irrespective of the offence committed against them”.

“Our vision is to ensure people have an awareness and understanding of Restorative Justice, its benefits, what it entails and how to access it. Good quality Restorative Justice should also be delivered and that’s why we are constantly investing in training our facilitators.”

Roger Hirst said: “Since April last year, our incredibly committed and hardworking Restorative Justice volunteers have logged more than 900 hours of service and completed 63 successful outcomes for cases they have been involved with. The service would not be able to function without their dedication and we would like to say thank you to them.”
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If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, email [email protected]

Volunteers must be over 18.

Facts and figures
• 303 referrals
• 93 per cent participant satisfaction
• 100 per cent of referrers would recommend taking part
• 78 per cent positive impact on participants
• 63 positive outcomes
• More than 900 volunteer hours logged