Summary
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"...Our criminal justice system is built around the ethos of crime being against the state, not against the person; and about punishment, not problem-solving. It is adversarial; it does not bring people together. For RJ to work effectively, criminal justice professionals need to give up some of their power and allow stakeholders to participate fully so that the system is not imposed on them. Looking around the world at where RJ is developing quickly, it seems to do particularly well in areas where there has been conflict or massive political change, for example in Northern Ireland and Eastern Europe. Perhaps things have to get very bad before significant changes are embraced and promoted? Let's not allow the UK to fall behind with what many other countries now know can improve the life of victims and communities and have a positive effect on crime." (excerpt)
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