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Restorative Approaches

lecture in front of white board

HOUSING & COMMUNITIES

  This program focuses on the restoration of good relations in communities and social housing neighbourhoods between young people, adults and the victim.

Our process enables participants to explore issues of accountability, the impact of their behaviours on others, the needs of the victim and offender, as well as their rights and responsibilities as members of the                                                                                       community.

Agreements arising out of this process allow offenders to make amends to victims and address the issues, which may contribute to recidivism.
Crime and anti-social behaviour causes injury to people and communities and a restorative approach insists that justice repairs those injuries and that the parties be permitted to participate in a fair process.

Restorative justice practices, therefore, enable the victim, the offender and affected members of the community to be directly involved in responding to crime and anti-social behaviour. They become central to the criminal and civil justice process, with governmental and legal professionals serving as facilitators of a system that aims at offender accountability, reparation to the victim and full participation by the victim, offender and community.

The restorative process of involving all parties often in face-to-face meetings is a powerful way of addressing not only the material and physical injuries caused by crime and anti-social behaviour, but the social, psychological and relational injuries as well.

When a party is not able, or does not want, to participate in such a meeting, other approaches can be taken to achieve the restorative outcome of repairing the harm. In addressing offender accountability these approaches can include restitution, community service and other reparative activities. In addressing victim and offender reintegration they can include ongoing support and assistance.

https://restorativejustice.org.uk/restorative-practice-housing

 

Prison Service

Indigenous or customary practices are being adapted for use in the criminal justice system. Examples of this include conferencing and circles.

Victim-offender encounters taking place inside prisons. In some instances this involves victims meeting with their offenders in a kind of “post sentencing mediation” and “Circles of Support”.

The programme increases safety of the public by establishing an agreement and reintegration plan with the offender, by regularly monitoring the behaviour of the offender, and by ensuring that community resources needed (when necessary) by the offender are made available. It ensures the safety of the offender by offering a forum for community members to voice their concerns, by intervening with community members when necessary, and by working with the police and other authorities to provide protection and services as needed.

POLICE FORCES

We offer training to Police forces to facilitate Restorative Justice (RJ) as a way to deliver cautions, reprimands and final warnings. It is also available                                                for conditional cautions in some areas.

Community/Neighbourhood Police Officers are trained to use RJ to help them deal with neighbour disputes, minor crimes, community issues, and many other incidents they come across on a daily basis.

Youth Restorative Disposals (YRDs) and Adult Restorative Disposals (ARDs) can also be delivered using RJ. These disposals – for low-level crime – were introduced to deal with offenders without bringing them into the Criminal Justice system and allow the victim to say what they would like to come out of the incident. This is often just acceptance of wrongdoing and an apology.

Victim-offender-community meetings are being done at many phases of the justice process. They are run by police prior to charge, by probation officers and by prison officers. This is in addition to the provision of community-based victim-offender-community meetings.

https://restorativejustice.org.uk/criminal-justice

https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/victims-witnesses-and-offenders/restorative-justice/

 

We offer Restorative Practice training for further information 

Email: info@contact2contact.org