Criminal Damage
Reparative work case study: Damage to Church
One evening the defendant, aged 19 years, had been out in his new and very expensive car and decided to 'wheel spin' it in the church car park. In doing so, he crashed it into the church wall causing about £200 worth of damage to this very old church. He also caused large grooves to be dug into the car park surface.
The police were called by a local resident as she was woken by the noise as she slept in her bed. She was very frightened. It was quite easy to detect this crime as the defendent had left his number plate at the scene after his car smashed into the church and it was not long before he was arrested and taken to the nearby police station.
The next morning, there was a funeral due to take place in the church, but the damage to the car park was too bad to allow cars in and people to walk across it without the fear of them falling. As a result the local congregation attended the car park with their rakes and other garden tools to make good the damage and allow the funeral to take place. The widow was very distressed to learn about the possible postponement of the funeral. The funeral took place as planned, due to the hard work of the local people.
The defendant was told of the affect his actions had had on the local people and he said he was sorry for all the upset and hard work he had caused. He immediately paid for the damage and agreed to spend time working in the church to make up for the harm caused. The church was due to have a new floor and needed the heavy pews moved to enable the floor to be laid. The local people suggested this work as most of them were elderly and a strong young man would have been a great help.
He carried out this work (after it had been risk assessed by probation) and was able to come face to face with those whom he had harmed. This resulted in the victim's needs being met in more ways than one. The defendant also felt he had repaired the harm he had caused and was able to face those in the local village where the damage had occurred.
Last update: Thursday, June 28, 2007
