A groundbreaking new initiative that pairs prisoners with victims of crime is helping inmates turn their lives around and victims come to terms with their ordeal.

The Sycamore Tree Project has seen 16 prisoners complete the eight-week-long series of classroom sessions where inmates come face-to-face with victims of a range of crimes and talk candidly about their experiences.

Just this week — for the first time in Bermuda — a conferencing session saw a convicted gunman sit down with one of the men who witnessed the shooting as part of an initiative to provide the inmate with more insight into the consequences of his crime and some sense of closure for the victim.

The restorative justice programme is having significant and positive effects for both prisoners and victims taking part in the initiative, according to Davina Aidoo, forensic psychologist at Westgate and restorative justice coordinator.

“Since the start of the department’s restorative justice initiative the majority of inmates have been receptive and the benefits to them and members of the community affected by crime has been very promising,” she said.

“The process of moving onto conferences with direct victims has been slow, however this was to be expected as a new initiative and full and proper preparation is paramount.

“A year later we have had our first meeting of offender and victim, with a couple more in the planning.

“Currently with the number of inmates that have been asked if they would like to meet with those directly affected by their actions 80 per cent have agreed.”

The Island’s first Sycamore Tree Project, which is facilitated by the Prison Fellowship, was launched at Westgate last September. There have been two more programmes since then, the last of which ended just before Cup Match.

One 39-year-old inmate, who is serving life for premeditated murder, was part of the first group to take part in the Sycamore Tree Project that involved eight prisoners and eight victims.

He said: “Sycamore takes away the excuses. It made me realise that some people have been through the same as me, and yet they did not commit a crime.

“It’s about me and how my actions are affecting others. But it does not give me the right to step on the world and kick it in the face.”

Aggravated burglary victim Laura Smith was one of five victims of crime that agreed to take part in the most recent Sycamore Tree project. She told The Royal Gazette: “Although we are seen as ‘victims and offenders’ I felt there was a lot more common ground than we may have thought before.

“I got a great deal of support from the group. It made me really think about what I am going to do with the anger I feel about what happened. I don’t have an answer to that yet, but I felt that the project really helped.”

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