Last week, Judge Roberts praised the services of Waitaki Turnaround, a restorative justice practice managed by the Waitaki Safer Community Trust.
Judge Roberts commended the restorative justice service for the thoroughness of its reports and the building blocks they provided him in terms of sentencing offenders.
Waitaki Turnaround's co-ordinator and former police officer Derek Beveridge said he appreciated the praise from Judge Roberts.
"It's nice to hear comments coming back from the bench, because sometimes you wonder if what you're doing is what they want.
"I'm not interested in people patting people on the back, but it's nice for it to be recognised that what we're doing is what they're expecting.''
Restorative justice in Oamaru was an opportunity for victims and survivors of crime to be heard, he said.
Restorative justice had been going on in Oamaru for about 20 years, and Mr Beveridge took on the job at Waitaki Turnaround once he left the police.
Oamaru's restorative justice programme involved providing an initial assessment of the offender and the offence and contacting the victim to see if a restorative justice meeting could be held.
If such a meeting was possible, the offender and victim along with support people and a facilitator gathered to discuss what occurred, before the circumstances surrounding the incident were examined.
The final step was to examine what needed to be done to repair the harm caused to the victim.
"Restorative justice is victim-orientated,'' Mr Beveridge said.
Then reports were prepared for the courts to help with sentencing.
He believed the programme being run in the town was beneficial for all involved, Mr Beveridge said.
Feedback from those who took part in the programme indicated they were satisfied.
"It gives the victims a voice they might not have otherwise, if they want their voice. But not all of them do.''
