INDEPENDENT ACADEMIC RESEARCH STUDIES Restorative Justice in the UK 31 October 2011 3E Restorative Justice Project Designing a Strategy for Europe, Thessaloniki Dr. Theo Gavrielides, Founder & Director Ben Lyon, RJ Coordinator
Content What is restorative justice? Restorative justice in the UK The theory of restorative justice Restorative justice: the good news Restorative justice: the bad news Moving forward Further Reading Discussion, Q&A 01
Similar projects (current & past) 2011-13: EU funded Restorative justice in penal matters in Europe, Prof. Frieder Dunkel University of Creifswald, Germany 2010: Restorative justice realities Leuven publication (elevel) 2004: Mapping Restorative Justice: Developments in 25 European Countries Leuven, Belgium: European Forum for Victim-Offender Mediation and Restorative Justice, Willemsens and Miers 2001, An international review of restorative justice, Home Office - Miers 02
What is restorative justice? Restorative Justice is an ethos with practical goals, among which is to restore harm by including affected parties in a (direct or indirect) encounter and a process of understanding through voluntary and honest dialogue (Gavrielides 2007: 139). Restorative Justice Practices: Mediation (direct-indirect) Family Group Conferencing Healing & Sentencing Circles Community Restorative Boards It does NOT include Victim Support Schemes (e.g. VIS, compensation, community service) YOTs, YOPs, caution 03
What is restorative justice? 1. Civil matters A. Family disputes B. Work/ employment disputes C. Neighbourhood conflicts D. School conflicts 2. Penal matters A. Adult criminal justice system B. Youth Justice System (10 yrs E&W, 16 Sc, 10-12 NI) 04
Mediation: a classification for the CJS 05
Restorative justice in the UK 1972 first victim-offender mediation (BACRO) RJ in the youth justice system (CDA 1998 &YJCEA 1999) RJ in the CJS in the shadow of the law RJ - Community driven/ bottom-up structure & delivery England & Wales - emphasis on diversion Northern Ireland emphasis on prevention Scotland emphasis on rehabilitation & prevention International Obligations EU Recommendations EU Directives Council of Europe Recommendations United Nations Principles & Recommendations 06
Restorative justice theory 1970s: Eglash, Barnett, Christie Abolitionists, alternative paradigm, conflicts as property 1980s: Zehr Changing Lenses, Braithwaite Reintegrative shaming, Responsive Regulation 1990s Fatic A social theory of trust, Duff Communicative theory, Daly Alternative punishment 2000s Gavrielides Restorative Punishment, Johnstone alternative model, Van Ness forgiveness. Communitarian/ Liberal Schools of Thought Ethos theory of life/ justice theory/ CJ theory 07
Restorative justice theory: key principles Respect and dignity Equality & diversity Rule of law, fairness, proportionality and due process Involvement in decision making and empowerment Reparation and restoration Brotherhood and solidarity Voluntariness Confidentiality Freedom from fear 08
Restorative Justice: the good news Victim satisfaction Victim monetary/ material compensation Victim non-material compensation (apology, healing) Reduction of re-offending (recidivism) Offender satisfaction Community impact 09
Cost-benefit analysis RJ can deliver cost savings of up to 9 for every 1 spent (Shapland et al 2008). If RJ were offered to all victims of burglary, robbery and violence against the person where the offender had pleaded guilty (which would amount to around 75,000 victims), the cost savings to the criminal justice system - as a result of a reduction in reconviction rates - would amount to at least 185 million over two years (Victim Support 2010) RJ practices would likely lead to a net benefit of over 1billion over ten years (Matrix Evidence 2009). According to the 2010 House of Commons cross party Justice Committee, in 2007-8 the average cost of a prison place for one adult was 39,000. Jailing one young offender costs as much as 140,000 per year ( 100,000 in direct costs and 40,000 in indirect costs once they are released) 10
Restorative justice: the bad news Conceptual conflicts Consistency & longevity Training & Accreditation Funding Evaluation & monitoring Watering down the core principles A developing gap between theory and practice 11
Cost-benefit analysis: warning House of Commons Justice Committee We have grave concerns about the impact of efficiency savings on practice at the frontline for both prisons and probation, which will undoubtedly undermine the progress in performance of both services. Neither prisons nor probation have the capacity to keep up with the current levels of offenders entering the system. It is not sustainable to finance the costs of running additional prison places and greater probation caseloads from efficiency savings in the long-term (2010: 10). 12
Current policy opportunities? The big society Emphasis on locality & community led solutions to crime Breaking the cycle Youth Justice reform Prison reform 13
Current Projects Restorative Justice and the Secure Estate: Alternatives for Young People (report & 1 December conference) Restorative Justice Theory & Practice: Addressing the Discrepancy, Helsinki: HEUNI A pan-european Strategy for Restorative Justice Project Rights & Restoration within Youth Justice, Canada: de Sitter Publications Drawing together research, policy and practice for restorative justice project More information: http://iars.org.uk/content/current-projects 14
Further reading Barnett, R. (1977) 'Restitution: A New Paradigm of Criminal Justice', Ethics: An International Journal of Social, Political, and Legal Philosophy 87(4), 279-301. Braithwaite, J. (1997) Crime, Shame and Reintegration, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Braithwaite, J. (2002) Restorative Justice & Responsive Regulation, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Christie, N. (1977) 'Conflicts as Property', British Journal of Criminology 17(1), 1-15. Daly, K. (2000) 'Revisiting the Relationship between Retributive and RJ', in H. Strang and J. Braithwaite (eds) RJ: Philosophy to Practice, Aldershot, USA, Singapore, Sydney: Ashgate/Dartmouth. Gavrielides, T. (2012) Rights and Restoration within youth justice, de Sitter Publications: Canada. Gavrielides, T. (2007) Restorative Justice Theory and Practice: Addressing the Discrepancy, HEUNI: Helsinki. Gavrielides, T. (2011). Restorative Practices: From the Early Societies to the 1970s. Internet Journal of Criminology ISSN 2045-6743 (Online). Gavrielides, T. (2011). Restorative Justice and the Secure Estate: Alternatives for Young People, IARS: London. Gavrielides, T. (2011). Restorative Practices & Hate Crime: Opening up the debate. 14:4 Temida. Gavrielides, T. (2008) Restorative justice: the perplexing concept. Conceptual fault lines and power battles within the restorative justice movement 8:2 Criminology and Criminal Justice Journal, 165-183 Gavrielides T. and D. Coker (2005) Restoring Faith: Resolving the Catholic Church s Sexual Sca,ndals through Restorative Justice: Working Paper I, 8:4 Contemporary Justice Review, pp. 345-365 Gavrielides, T. (2004) Global Restorative Justice: Averting the Middle Age Crisis. Looking into the Discrepancy Between the Restorative Theory and Practice, 4:2 International Journal of Comparative Criminology, pp. 263-275. Gavrielides, T. (2003) Restorative Justice: Are we there yet? Responding to the Home Office s Consultation Questions, 14:4 Criminal Law Forum, pp. 385-419. Johnstone, G. (2001) RJ: Ideas, practices, debates, Devon: Willan. Zehr, H. (1990) Changing Lenses: A New Focus for Crime and Justice, Scottdale, Pennsylvania Waterloo, Ontario: Herald Press. 15
Questions & Contact details Dr. Theo Gavrielides Founder & Director, IARS 159 Clapham Road, London SW9 0PU, UK T.Gavrielides@iars.org.uk 020 7820 0945 www.iars.org.uk Dr. Gavrielides is also a Visiting Professorial Research Fellow at Panteion University, a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at Open University and a Visiting Scholar at Mount Royal University 16