At one Welsh police force, one in 14 cases of violence were dealt with by community resolution
Hundreds of offenders have avoided criminal records by saying sorry.
In some cases, the apologies were for offences of kidnap, stalking and making death threats.
North Wales Police used community resolutions on 587 occasions, South Wales on 455, Dyfed-Powys on 360 and Gwent on 279 during 2015/16
At South Wales Police six offences of cruelty to children or young persons were dealt with using restorative justice in 2015/16.
There was one case of kidnapping, one of stalking, and seven of making threats to kill.
There were two assaults with intent to cause serious harm dealt with by community resolution at Dyfed-Powys Police in 2015/16, four at Gwent and 10 at South Wales.
In 2015/16 at Dyfed-Powys Police, one in 14 cases of violence against the person – 360 of 5,189 or 6.9% – were dealt with by community resolution.
At the same force one in 13 assault with injury offences was dealt with by community resolution. That was a rate of 7.7%, or 181 of 2,340.
It dealt with 21 of 332 harassment offences in the same way.
Monmouth MP David Davies was concerned restorative justice was used only where appropriate.
“What I would say is that there is a place for community resolution in dealing with minor crimes unlikely to be repeated,” he said.
“But they must not be used as an alternative to proper sentencing.
“They should not be seen as a quick and easy alternative.”
Community resolutions can only happen when the victim agrees to accept an apology or other act to make up for the offence.
They are aimed at remorseful first time offenders when the victim has agreed they do not want more formal action taken.
The objective, according to police, is to empower victims and put them at the heart of the justice system.
Adam Fouracre is chief executive of charity Stand Against Violence.
“Restorative justice is quite effective and has been proven to be a good way to get some closure for victims and also give offenders an understanding of the true gravity of their offence and the effect it has on other people,” he said.
“A lot of the time there is a lack of understanding from the perpetrator about how their actions affect other people and it is quite good for them to get an awareness and understanding of the impact on others.”
Across England and Wales, 42,164 violence against the person offences were dealt with by a community resolution in 2015/16, or 4.4%.
“It’s difficult to look behind the figures at individual cases and comment on whether it is appropriate or not, but it is good that this number of offences are being dealt with in this way,” Mr Fouracre said.
“It is primarily for first time offences. There is good evidence to suggest it works but it depends on the individuals and the people involved.
“The evidence is that it is generally effective. If they go on and commit another offence then arguably it did not work, but it is always a good place to start.”
He encouraged people to use restorative justice from an early age, “like in primary school where you can get bullies and victims together.”
“If you bring people up in that mindset, that’s good.” he said.
“But I’m not so sure it’s effective on repeat offenders.”
At North Wales Police PC Sian Thomas is in charge of restorative justice. “The circumstances of each crime are reviewed and the appropriate course of action taken,” she said.
“The vast majority of cases where violence is concerned have either involved no injury or only slight injury being caused.
“Community resolution is normally only considered when there is consent of the victim.
“We will continue to do what is right for the victim and the public by making every effort to prevent reoffending, whether that is with community resolution or placing people before the courts.”
Gwent Police said community resolutions were “a tool that enable police to make decisions about how to deal more proportionately with lower level crime.”
“A community resolution may be used with both youth and adult offenders,” a spokeswoman said.
“The victim’s involvement is entirely voluntary. Where a victim does not wish to be involved then such a disposal cannot be used. The key principle is to put victims first and to enable them to have more say in the punishment of offenders out of court.”
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/offenders-avoided-criminal-records-kidnap-12487258
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