Violent Crimes

Restorative justice and victims and perpetrators of violent crime

Who are you? Karen Lang

from Alicia Hanson's article on abc.net.au: "Imagine you are shopping at Garden City - you are trying to find an appropriate jumper for your daughter. It has to have a high neck. Something that will compliment her blonde hair and fair skin. You know she would want to look her best. Finally you find a soft mauve high neck jumper, you know it will look beautiful on her. You clutch your purchase and contain yourself till you reach your car - where you break into sobs. The jumper is for your daughter to wear in the casket - there will be a viewing and the high neck is to cover her wounds. You will never shop at Garden City again without thinking of her. Imagine." - Karen Lang

There’s hope even for sex offenders

from Chris Dornin's article in Corrections.com: ....So we register sex offenders as surrogate terrorists and post their personal information as if it were bin Laden’s bio on the Internet for everyone to see. Failure to report to police on a quarterly basis earns a sex offender a new felony charge. We ban them from living near schools, daycare centers and school bus stops with draconian penalties for violations. We civilly commit them when they finish their prison terms. We make sure those are long sentences by stacking charges in multiple consecutive bids. Each image of child on hard drive becomes a separate felony. We give sex offenders special license plates. The police notify the neighbors when a sex offender moves in nearby. The neighbors evict them, or force the landlords to do it for them, sometimes subtly, sometimes with raw violence.

Restoring a sense of justice in broken communities

from Stephen Moffatt's entry on Open Democracy's 50.50: Last summer major cities in the UK saw serious urban unrest for the first time in a generation. The underlying causes, reasons for the rapid escalation and reaction of public services to the unrest have been the subject of several studies, notably Reading the Riots ↑ and the Independent Riots Communities and Victims Panel ↑ , whose work continues. The evidence that emerged has already established a clear link between deprivation and rioting, a fact acknowledged by the Independent Riots Panel in their interim report.

How restorative justice can empower victims in serious crimes - two cases of rape

from the post by Jonathan Bartley in Ekklesia: A frequently repeated myth about restorative justice is that it can’t work for “serious” or “violent crimes”. As restorative practices become more widely available however, this myth is being busted. Its role in shifting the power imbalance around crime towards the victim is becoming increasingly apparent. Its ability to help victims overcome the fear of crime and move on, in a way that more punitive practices often don't, is also being appreciated. Two examples that have been cited recently involve cases of rape.

A restorative circle in the wake of a police shooting

from the article by Andrea Brenneke in Tikkun: ....In the weeks after the shooting, members of the Williams family reported strained interactions with members of the police department, including increased scrutiny and harassment by bicycle patrol officers where they worked and sold their art at the Pike Place Market. Tensions were building. Something had to be done to address the immediate needs for safety and improve the relationship between the family, the community, and the police department. ....There was no restorative justice system in place nor any prior experience with Restorative Circles, so I worked with Kathryn Olson to create a shared understanding of the process we would use to hold this circle. We modified aspects of the Restorative Circle process to address the unusual circumstances. I was able to hold pre-circle meetings with the family members, friends, and community members, but it was not possible for me to meet in advance with most of the police department participants. Instead, I worked with Ms. Olson and provided her written summaries of the Restorative Circles process to share with the other participants in the Seattle Police Department. In all of this, I aimed to stay true to restorative principles and be flexible with the form of how the process unfolded.

A restorative circle in the wake of a police shooting

from the article by Andrea Brenneke in Tikkun: ....In the weeks after the shooting, members of the Williams family reported strained interactions with members of the police department, including increased scrutiny and harassment by bicycle patrol officers where they worked and sold their art at the Pike Place Market. Tensions were building. Something had to be done to address the immediate needs for safety and improve the relationship between the family, the community, and the police department. ....There was no restorative justice system in place nor any prior experience with Restorative Circles, so I worked with Kathryn Olson to create a shared understanding of the process we would use to hold this circle. We modified aspects of the Restorative Circle process to address the unusual circumstances. I was able to hold pre-circle meetings with the family members, friends, and community members, but it was not possible for me to meet in advance with most of the police department participants. Instead, I worked with Ms. Olson and provided her written summaries of the Restorative Circles process to share with the other participants in the Seattle Police Department. In all of this, I aimed to stay true to restorative principles and be flexible with the form of how the process unfolded.

Restorative justice approach to schoolboy assault

from the Nottinghamshire Police webpage: A new approach to resolving criminal matters has been used to deal with an assault on a Nottingham schoolboy. A 14-year-old pupil collapsed after he was assaulted in a classroom by a fellow schoolboy at the National Church of England Academy on 22 September 2011.

A restorative lens on violence

from Jennifer Haslett and Alan Edwards' article for Restorative Justice Week 2011: ....In our 14 years of working together on RJ cases involving violence, we have found that maintaining a focus on RJ as a justice process is fundamental in that it holds central the priorities of reparation of harm, accountability, safety and voice. Justice in this context is not synonymous with the criminal justice system; rather, justice as something people seek in societies and also as individuals on a daily basis, whether within families, workplaces or interactions within communities.

Penn State's response to child sexual abuse: What about the victims?

by Lisa Rea As the story comes out in more detail about the alleged sexual abuse of children by Jerry Sandusky, former assistant football coach at Penn State, the coverage of the story seems to be more about the actions of veteran coach Joe Paterno--his resignation or the university's decision to fire him.

Conventional and innovative justice responses to sexual violence

from the article by Kathleen Daly in ACSSA Issues: Despite 30 years of significant change to the way the criminal justice system responds to sexual violence, conviction rates have gone down in Australia, Canada, and England and Wales. Victim/survivors continue to express dissatisfaction with how the police and courts handle their cases and with their experience of the trial process. Many commentators and researchers recognise that the crux of the problem is cultural beliefs about gender and sexuality, which dilute and undermine the intentions of rape law reform.2 These beliefs affect victims adversely, but at the same time, increased criminalisation and penalisation of offenders is not likely to yield constructive outcomes. This paper reflects on the limits of legal reform in improving outcomes for victim/survivors. Given the extent of reform to procedural, substantive, and evidentiary aspects of sexual assault legal cases, we may have exhausted its potential to change the response to sexual assault. We may need to consider innovative justice responses, which may be part of the legal system or lie beyond it.

Bougainville wants restorative justice approach to settling violence in south

from the report on Radio New Zealand International: The autonomous Papua New Guinea province of Bougainville hopes to resolve a long standing impasse in the south of the main island by taking the traditional Melanesian approach of reconciliation. Despite six years of autonomy, few government services are available around the district of Konnou because the security of workers can’t be guaranteed.

Stefaans Coetzee is the face of restorative justice

from the article by Bobby Jordan in The Sunday Times: ....Today is no ordinary day for the 33-year-old who grew up in an orphanage in Winburg in the Free State. Head slightly bowed, he looks up at two imams who have finally been allowed to visit him at Pretoria Central Prison. Their two previous attempts failed. The imams are from Rustenburg, where some of their congregation were nearly blown up by two Wit Wolwe bombs outside their mosque. Now they want to ask Coetzee what it was all about.

Iranian woman blinded by acid attack pardons assailant as he faces same fate

from the article by Saeed Kamali Dehghan in The Guiardian: A woman blinded with acid in Iran has pardoned her attacker, a man who was scheduled to lose his sight in an eye for an eye punishment on Sunday. Majid Movahedi, 30, had been taken to Tehran's judiciary hospital to be blinded with acid after being rendered unconscious, but Ameneh Bahrami, his victim, spared him at the last minute, Iran's semi-official Isna news agency reported. Iran's judiciary had given the green light to the administration for the retributive punishment, which would have been the first blinding of a convict in the country, but human rights groups across the world called on Bahrami, who had asked for eye for an eye justice in the court, to pardon him.

After the crime: the power of restorative justice. Dialogues between victims and violent offenders

by Martin Wright Violence, rape, murder and other abusive crimes: not usually pleasant subjects to read about, yet Susan Miller's book left this reader with a positive feeling. This is largely due to Miller herself, who presents the information in a straightforward, sympathetic but non-judgemental way; to Kim Book, who started the organization Victims' Voices Heard after her daughter was murdered; and to the participants themselves. Not all victims felt able to forgive, and this should not be a criterion for 'success'; but they followed the Amish precept: don't balance hurt with hate. Not all offenders accepted full responsibility. Miller divides restorative justice into diversion, taking the place of the criminal justice process for relatively minor cases, and 'therapeutic' RJ, where the offender is already in custody or has served a prison term. These cases are all in the latter category.

Listening to crime victims: North Carolina restorative justice conference

by Lisa Rea When crime victims speak about the effect violent crime has had on their lives you have to listen. On June 9th I moderated a crime victims roundtable during the 3rd Annual Restorative Justice Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina coordinated this year by Campbell University Law School. The roundtable called "Listening to Crime Victims: Their Journeys Toward Healing" was sponsored by the Journey of Hope: From Violence to Healing. The four victims of violence who told their stories were Bill Pelke, chair, Journey of Hope: From Violence to Healing (Alaska), Stephen Watt, Stephen Watt Ministries (Wyoming) , Bess Klassen-Landis, musician and teacher (Vermont), and Kim Book, executive director, Victims Voices Heard (Delaware). No matter how many crime victims panels I have moderated the stories are always riveting and often what I hear the victims say is new even when I am familiar with the stories. I learn something new as the victims move along in their lives---their own personal journeys.

Finding forgiveness

from SBS Dateline: Dateline has a touching story of friendship between a woman who was shot and critically injured, and the stranger who attempted to kill her. Jackie Millar took years to recover after she was shot in the head. She remains almost blind and permanently brain damaged, unable to even remember bringing up her own sons.

Ken Clarke was right to start a debate about sentencing in rape cases

from Clare McGlynn's article in The Guardian: Justice for rape victims does not simply equate to long prison sentences. The Victims' Champion (pdf), Sara Payne, has urged us to reconsider our definition of justice, so it is "not just punishing a perpetrator and preventing further crimes". She suggested that an offender who pleaded guilty on the day of trial should not gain a discount, but that incentives for an early plea of guilt should be investigated. A 2009 academic study (pdf) on rape and the legal process also recommended looking at ways to encourage early admissions. Further support for this approach can be found in the Stern Review (pdf) into how rape complaints are handled, which the government has said it endorses in full. Lady Stern found that securing a conviction and punishment is important for victims, but so is simply being believed. She advocated policies which "honour the experience" of rape, with victims feeling that their experience has been understood, its effects acknowledged and holistic support offered.

Restorative justice in the spotlight

From Lyn Humphreys' article in Taranaki Daily News: A national report on the effect of restorative justice conferences is expected to reinforce their power in halting crime. A Justice Department draft report looking into the outcome of restorative justice conferences across New Zealand found that criminals who went through the process were less likely to offend, Chief District Court Judge Russell Johnson told a Taranaki Restorative Justice Trust meeting in New Plymouth earlier this month. However, the draft report, which is yet to be officially released, also appeared to show that it was not effective for criminals involved in the most serious crimes, Judge Johnson said.

The Salvation Army and restorative justice

from the article in The Dignity Project: “I will never forget my first brush with injustice” says Matt Delaney. “I was so hurt. I wanted pay back. I wanted to retaliate, to return the favour that I didn’t ask for. I did fight back. Strange though, after I unleashed my vengeance, all I felt was empty and alone. What was wrong with me? Where was the justice I was looking for? Why didn’t I feel justified?

Non-formal education in the Middle East: Giving adolescents a second chance

from Curt Rhodes' article on unicef.org: In May 2005 violence exploded during a soccer game among students who had just enrolled in their town’s first NFE class. Angry over a lost goal, Humam kicked his younger teammate Ayman to the ground. This kind of violence early in the programme jeopardized the entire approach to alternative education. Ayman was a shy, defenseless boy. Other boys like him might feel threatened, and the safety of the learning environment might dissolve if violence went unchecked. The teaching facilitators decided that the violent incident would best be resolved by the students themselves ruling on justice for the harmed and a penalty for the offender. They announced a trial – with students taking the roles of judge, jury, prosecution and defense – and explained the legal process to the two boys and the other students.