Girls say sorry to paramedic

Two teenage girls who threatened a paramedic as he tended an injured patient have apologised for their behaviour.

One of the girls told Tim Roberts that she would stab him as he struggled to monitor the man's condition. "It was quite intimidating and I didn't know if she had a knife or not," he
said.

But Tim, who is stationed in Rhyl and has been in the ambulance service for 17 years, feels the incident has had a positive outcome because of his face-to-face meeting with the girls following their appearance in court.

The meeting was arranged under the restorative justice scheme by which offenders are made to realise the impact of their actions on others, a scheme which is being increasingly used across North Wales.

The incident occurred in August last year when Tim was called to Rhyl bus station where a man was reported to have fallen and injured his head. When he arrived the two 15-year-olds, who had apparently been drinking, were trying to help.

"At first they were OK but then they started getting becoming obstructive and wouldn't move away when I asked," said Tim.

"The whole spiralled out of control and become threatening, and one of the them then said she would stab me. All the time I was trying to monitor the patient, and yet I was having to try to keep an eye on the girls who were behind me."

"I have been involved in many incidents over the years in which various instruments have been used and so my level of suspicion was quite high."
Even when Tim put the man in the back seat of his rapid response vehicle one of the girls tried to push past him.

The teenagers - one from Holywell and the other from Shotton - ran off when the police arrived and were caught in a nearby car-park. They subsequently pleaded guilty at Prestatyn youth court to using threatening behaviour and one admitted resisting an officer.

They also pleaded guilty to three charges of shoplifting and were given an eight-month referral order.

Pat Gadd, victim liaison officer with the Conwy and Denbighshire youth justice team, suggested that it was a suitable case for restorative justice and contacted Sgt Tony Morgan, the lead officer for the scheme in North Wales Police.

As a result - and with the agreement of all parties - the round-the-table meeting was held at which Tim spelled out how intimidated he had felt and the possible clinical consequences of the girls' actions for the patient.

"I had never heard of the restorative justice scheme before but I felt it worked out well and everyone played a part," he said. "I felt the girls' apologies were heartfelt because they also came up to me afterwards to say sorry.

The whole episode has had a positive outcome and I think the girls are better for it."