THE victim of an alleged glassing whose attacker wrote her a childlike apology note has branded restorative justice a “joke”.

Amy Tombs received the hastily-written scribbled sorry note about a week after being glassed in the face in a nightspot in Yarm, near Stockton – and says it “boiled my blood”.

She claimed she was told she had no choice but to go down the route of restorative justice (RJ), which is supposed to bring together victims of crime with those responsible in a structured and supported way.

Restorative justice has been championed by Cleveland’s Police and Crime Commissioner Barry Coppinger. In some cases it brings perpetrators face to face with victims to see the impact of the crime.

However Cleveland Police has admitted that in Ms Tombs’ case the use of restorative justice was a “good faith mistake” by the investigating officer.

The Northern Echo:

Amy Tombs

Ms Tombs claimed she was glassed in the face by a woman in Lotus Lounge, Yarm, several weeks ago and reported it to police after suffering a black eye and facial and chest abrasions.

Her 35-year-old attacker made a counter-claim of assault, there were no available witnesses and the CCTV was unclear so the case was not pursued due to lack of evidence, said police.

But Ms Tombs said: “I got this note which was worse than something my son would write at school to apologise for something. She hadn’t even bothered to write a proper apology. I wanted her to be cautioned, but they told me they didn’t want to do that because it would affect her job.

“I didn’t want to do restorative justice but they told me I had to. I have since found out that the victim has to consent to this for it to go ahead. The whole thing was a joke.”

The Northern Echo:

Amy after the attack

A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said: “One of the investigating officers mistakenly believed that the incident between the two women could be dealt with as restorative justice. However, it was not suitable for restorative justice and the officer has since been reminded of the criteria to follow.”

She said that police later received another complaint regarding posts on social media, and a harassment warning was issued. Ms Tombs, 36, from Middlesbrough, said police had spoken to her and warned her about harassment, although she said she had only posted the note on Facebook because she was so horrified by it.

Barry Coppinger, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland, said: “Any investigation by Cleveland Police needs to be victim focused and Restorative Justice can often be the most effective way of resolving a complaint.

“RJ has an important part to play in the criminal justice process. Used appropriately it can help bring closure to victims, benefit communities and divert offenders from future criminality and it has been used to successfully resolve over 500 lower level cases in Cleveland in the past year.

“I have been advised that this was a complex case involving two complainants and insufficient evidence to bring a charge. It would appear the police officer has made a good faith mistake in trying to use RJ to resolve this case.

“In fact RJ should not have been used in this matter and I understand that officer has now been reminded of the correct procedure.

“It is important that any victim of crime feels confident to come forward and report incidents to the police and I would urge them to do so.”