“A good initiative on the part of the police,” Marks said of their decision to not charge the three. Instead, the police allowed the youth to redeem themselves by accompanying their parents to a 30-minute meeting with the mayor to formally apologize for their behaviour and to deliver a cheque to pay for the cleanup of the vandalism.

The mayor was happy to be involved, with the police and saw this as an opportunity for the kids to make amends.

“I think it’s a great idea for kids who have done something that they recognize as being a foolish decision,” said Marks. “I think it’s absolutely an appropriate thing for them to come see the mayor and I’m very happy to meet with them and kind of reinforce the notion that you get one chance at this,” she said.

“They were certainly wanting to convey that they recognize that this was a stupid thing they had done and that this was not something that was going to be repeated,” said Marks.

In addition to the apology the three agreed to carry out community service.