Wednesday August 25th 2010
A woman who stole a toy from a child in a Chesterfield shop has been made to apologise to the youngster's parents face-to-face.
The six-year-old girl had just been bought the toy by her dad during a shopping trip in the town centre when she put the bag on the floor in Neu Look.
The 30-year-old woman then picked up the bag containing the toy and, after seeing it had been paid for with cash, took it back to the shop it was bought from for a refund.
Staff at Argos, where the toy was purchased, took the woman's postcode as part of their refund policy and police traced the woman to her home in the Loundsley Green area of Chesterfield where she admitted the theft.
Police officers spoke to the victim and the offender and it was agreed that she would meet the child's father and say sorry as well as write him a letter of apology and reimburse him with the money for the toy.
The crime was dealt with under Restorative Justice, an initiative introduced by Derbyshire Constabulary in April 2009 to reduce bureaucracy and deal with crime in a way which achieves a positive outcome, in line with the victims' wishes and without the case going through the court process.
The woman and the child's father met at Chesterfield Police Station on Wednesday, August 18 where she apologised and handed over the letter and £25.
PCSO John Lockwood, of the Chesterfield Town Centre Safer Neighbourhood Team, said, "The woman fully admitted what she had done and was very remorseful. Meeting the victim and writing the letter of apology was quite embarrassing for her.
"Restorative Justice is about finding positive solutions and encouraging offenders to face up to their actions, making them understand what they've done wrong and giving them an opportunity to do something to repair the harm."
To find out more about restorative justice and how it is being used by your local officers visit the website at www.restorativejustice.org.uk.
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