a and that any outcome was possible if the victim wants it. However, ‘victim focussed’ event, though this was the general consensus between officers, most admitted that in practice it was often A sergeant in Sheffield further explained why the officer might not ‘offender focussed’. take into account the perspective: victim’s ‘Sometimes the victim is out for blood for some petty offence, and that’s not proportionate. Sometimes you have to listen to what each side want but at the end of the day the officer it’s (Sergeant 2, Sheffield). decision’ Here, the officer thought that regardless of the views the officer in charge has the victim’s final say on the outcome of the restorative intervention. In interviews, officers were only slightly conscious of the gap between the rhetoric of RJ, and the reality of ‘victim focussed’ police practice whereby often the victim was not considered until last, if at all. When prompted to think about any benefits there may be for victims in the RJ process, there were few variations of answers to this question, and many officers replied that victims could get some closure, feel better served by the police and understand the reasons for offender’s committing a crime: think they feel sometimes that more has happened and more and understood ‘I we’ve listened (PC 2, Barnsley). the situation they are in and the impact it has had on them’ This officer comments that the victim felt a benefit from the police officer understanding the impact of the crime, more so than the offender understanding the impact of their actions. This may be due to the lack of direct victim-offender mediation carried out by officers, as many believed it to be time consuming so we find it easier now to refer it to a neighbourhoods ‘very resolution (PCSO 1, Barnsley). Overall, there seemed to be a great lack of officer panel’ knowledge or understanding of the effects the supposed SYRJP was ‘victim focussed’ intended to have for victim participants. Vignette Results Vignettes are typically short stories or situations depicting a fictional character or scenarios appropriate to a particular study. The story offered places the behaviour of the character in a concrete context and allows the researcher to explore the views and reactions participants’
a ‘victim focussed’ event, and that any outcome was possible if the victim wants it. However, though this was the general consensus between officers, most admitted that in practice it was often ‘offender focussed’. A sergeant in Sheffield further explained why the officer might not take into account the victim’s perspective: ‘Sometimes the victim is out for blood for some petty offence, and that’s not proportionate. Sometimes you have to listen to what each side want but at the end of the day it’s the officer decision’ (Sergeant 2, Sheffield). Here, the officer thought that regardless of the victim’s views the officer in charge has the final say on the outcome of the restorative intervention. In interviews, officers were only slightly conscious of the gap between the ‘victim focussed’ rhetoric of RJ, and the reality of police practice whereby often the victim was not considered until last, if at all. When prompted to think about any benefits there may be for victims in the RJ process, there were few variations of answers to this question, and many officers replied that victims could get some closure, feel better served by the police and understand the offender’s reasons for committing a crime: ‘I think they feel sometimes that more has happened and we’ve listened more and understood the situation they are in and the impact it has had on them’ (PC 2, Barnsley). This officer comments that the victim felt a benefit from the police officer understanding the impact of the crime, more so than the offender understanding the impact of their actions. This may be due to the lack of direct victim-offender mediation carried out by officers, as many believed it to be ‘very time consuming so we find it easier now to refer it to a neighbourhoods resolution panel’ (PCSO 1, Barnsley). Overall, there seemed to be a great lack of officer knowledge or understanding of the effects the supposed ‘victim focussed’ SYRJP was intended to have for victim participants. Vignette Results Vignettes are typically short stories or situations depicting a fictional character or scenarios appropriate to a particular study. The story offered places the behaviour of the character in a concrete context and allows the researcher to explore the participants’ views and reactions