A NEW centre which will use “restorative practice” as a way to help victims deal with the effects of crime is being launched in the city today.

Oxford East MP Andrew Smith will cut the ribbon at the Mint House Centre in New Inn Hall Street.

A programme of speeches and interviews with victims and offenders will take place this evening as team members work to make Oxford a “restorative city”.

Restorative justice enables victims to meet or communicate with their offenders to explain the real impact of a crime.

Restorative practice is more widely used to prevent conflict, build relationships and repair harm.

Spokeswoman for the centre Kat Bracewell said: “It’s about bringing people together to work out what’s gone wrong and what needs to happen so that things can be put right again.

“The centre will encourage this through drop-in advice sessions, storytelling and drama, research, and signposting to various aspects of restorative work.”

The launch of the new service, run primarily by volunteers, marks Restorative Justice Week which comes to an end on Sunday.

Associate practitioner Angie Kaye said: “The idea is to make Oxford a restorative city.

“You have the university, town and gown as well as the police who will be able to use the centre. It will serve a full range of issues, not just criminal ones.

“We called it the Mint House because it’s a historic building where money was made, so we thought it had a nice link.”

Speaking exclusively to the Oxford Mail, a victim who has used restorative justice said it gave her a new lease of life.

Coral, from South Oxfordshire, used the service after her husband was stabbed in the head following a road rage incident she was involved in.

The 44-year-old said: “We got this letter about restorative justice and I decided to try it. My husband was happy enough once the trial finished, but I felt I had to do it and my family supported me.

“It gave me the chance to get so much off my chest and the staff were so supportive of me.

“I sat down in the meeting and got some answers. I was able to ask ‘why did you get involved? Why would you feel the need to do this to somebody?’.

“It didn’t last too long – it was just enough for me to get closure. I felt when I walked out the building that a ton of bricks had been lifted of my shoulders.”

Coral added she would recommend it to anyone.

She said: “It’s brilliant that a centre is being opened in Oxford. I have met so many people through the service. It really does make a difference.

“You do not have to make a crime on you or your family your sentence.”