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Summary

O'Dwyer, Kieran (2002). A program of restorative cautioning by the police in the Republic of Ireland In Restorative Justice and its Relation to the Criminal Justice System: Papers from the second conference of the European Forum for Victim-Offender Mediation and Restorative Justice, Oostende, Belgium, 10-12 October. Pp. 14-24. Downloaded 23 February 2005.

This paper presents an overview of findings from recent and current evaluations of restorative justice initiatives for young offenders in the Garda Siochána, the national police service of the Republic of Ireland. The restorative interventions are of two kinds, both of which occur under the Garda Juvenile Diversion Programme. The first involves the victim in formal cautions and offers the possibility of apology and reparation. The second provides for family conferences that operate in much the same way as restorative cautions but go on to discuss the offending behaviour in more depth and develop action plans to avoid a recurrence. The paper addresses the place of the initiatives in the Irish criminal justice system and presents relevant results from evaluations of 83 cases. Among the issues raised are: case selection (criteria, suitability, barriers to greater use), the voluntary nature of participation and the type of outcomes achieved. Author's abstract.

Link: www.euforumrj.org/readingroom/Oostendeconf.pdf

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