London, Oct. 9 (ANI): Victims of crimes in the Britain will now be able to decide how the offender is punished, as UK Home Secretary, Theresa May, unveiled a set of sweeping justice reforms.
May is reportedly planning a law change to make British police and crime commissioners use a 'menu' of penalties for anti-social behaviour, which are likely to include the payment of compensation, repair of damage and cleaning up a public space, leaving it for the victim to decide which one is imposed.
She insisted that home and property owners should no longer be powerless in the face of yobbery.
"One of the big problems for the victims of anti-social behaviour is that they feel powerless. Somebody does something to them or their property and they feel they don't get reparation, or feel they are not part of the process," the Daily Mail quoted May, as saying.
"We want to ensure that they have a choice. It will mean saying to the victim: here's a list of options, what do you want to do? They may choose to go down the restorative route, and that they want someone to say sorry," she added.
May said some offenders were not even aware of the impact of their actions, and had to have the effects made clear.
She added, "It's also about giving victims transparency. One of the complaints I hear very regularly from victims is that they have reported an incident to the police but they don't know what happens after that. It's about putting the victim first. They've suffered and they should have a say in what happens."
The new power, which will be outlined to the Tory conference today, has been named the 'community remedy' and will be used for low-level crimes, such as criminal damage, which would normally be dealt with caution. (ANI)
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