PRINCESS Anne has said restorative justice needs to play a part in the justice system – not only to benefit the victims of crime but also the offenders.

The Princess Royal was visiting Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne in Lewes to see what work the force had done on restorative justice.

She said: “ It is really encouraging to see Sussex giving victims of crime the opportunity to use restorative justice.

“I think it should be part of the justice system and can make a real difference not just to the victim but to the offender as well.”

She also called for the time between crimes being committed and restorative justice carried out to be reduced.

Restorative justice brings together people harmed by crime and those responsible for the harm, to find a positive way forward.

It gives victims the chance to tell offenders the real impact of their crime, get answers to their questions and get an apology.

Police bosses have been told to promote the use of restorative justice and Sussex Police is seen as one of the leading forces.

Ms Bourne said: “We can’t just keep locking people up because they just keep staying in that cycle. There must be an alternative and this is about educating offenders and trying to almost re-set them.”

The princess heard from a number of victims of crime and the impact restorative justice has had on them.

Zac Mehmeti, a father-of-two from Eastbourne, spoke of his experience of restorative justice after being held up at knifepoint while driving his taxi.

The refugee from Kosovo, who came to the UK as a teenager 18 years ago, described how the robbery had shaken his faith in his adopted home.

He said: “I felt worse the night that happened than I felt during the war. In the war, you expected to be killed every minute but that night I was just working, I wasn’t doing anything wrong and then someone came and put a knife to my neck. I wondered if I was targeted because I’m foreign. I don’t have the words to describe how bad I was feeling – I was thinking about leaving the country.”

He said that after receiving a letter from his attacker he was able to find peace.