Restorative Cautioning/Diversion by Police

Formal warnings to offenders with restorative conditions imposed

Restorative Justice 'can be justified' in serious cases

from the article by Jack Sommers in Police Oracle: Frontline officers have a judgement call to make when deciding whether victims of more serious offences would benefit from Restorative Justice (RJ) rather than a prosecution, a senior officer has said. ACC Garry Shewan, who leads on justice and community resolutions for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), said there was not a “simple formula” and there was no prescribed list of offences for which Restorative Justice could be used.

RJC's response to the Victim's Code consultation paper

from the Restorative Justice Council: ....Requests for information about restorative justice 1. The duty on the police to direct victims to information on restorative justice and how they can take part is a hugely welcome development which will help make more restorative processes victim-led. 2. In our experience even victims who are aware of restorative justice and want to access it frequently come up against poor awareness among Criminal Justice System professionals about what restorative justice is, when it might be appropriate and whether it is locally available. This duty therefore has the potential to radically improve the experience of thousands of victims who could benefit from restorative justice.

Restorative justice scheme for young offenders proving to be a success for Cleveland Police

from the article by Graeme Hetherington in The Northern Echo: A scheme giving young first time offenders the chance to learn from their mistakes is proving to be a success just a fortnight after it was launched. Cleveland Police’s restorative justice project enables the victims of crime to have a greater say over the punishment of youngsters caught offending.

Police use of court alternatives for young persons in New South Wales

from the study by Clare Ringland and Nadine Smith in Crime and Justice Bulletin Through the use of warnings, cautions and conferences instead of court proceedings, the YOA established procedures for dealing efficiently and directly with children who commit certain offences. Previously reported statistics (DAGJ, 2011) suggested that diversionary options for young persons have not been used uniformly and equitably across the State. The purpose of the current study was to measure the level of variation across LACs in the proportion of young persons diverted from court, after adjusting for factors police must or can take into account when considering whether to deal with a young person via a caution or a conference.

Leaving Gang Life

The efforts of our police have been tremendous. Here in Abbotsford, community services will be launching a partnership with the school district, the police and [...]

Restorative justice "is a postcode lottery"

from the article on PublicService.co.uk: The report said that restorative justice does offer benefits to victims, offenders and communities and it is being used in all areas of the criminal justice system – but patchy take-up and inconsistent application mean that not all victims, offenders and communities are able to benefit.

BC gang activity wilting under police heat

from the article by Robert Freeman in the Chilliwak Progress: Gang activity in B.C. has wilted under the heat of Lower Mainland police forces, including the Chilliwack RCMP, says UFV criminologist Darryl Plecas. While the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit has put a “significant dent” in gang leadership, according to CFSEU spokesman Sgt. Bill Whelan, Plecas said “proactive” policing by municipal police forces like those in Chilliwack, Abbotsford and West Vancouver has given new recruits second thoughts about the gang lifestyle.

Can we have our ball back please? Teen arrested then released after Manchester City complaint

from the article by "Sportsmail REporter" in the Mail: Manchester City officials called in police after a teenage fan made off with the title-winning ball in the club’s Premier League triumph. The ball went missing in the melee that followed striker Sergio Aguero’s last-ditch winner against QPR last Sunday when fans streamed on to the pitch at the Etihad Stadium as the final whistle blew.

The three different levels of Restorative Justice

From the article by the Sentinel: Level One is for minor offences or non-criminal incidents like anti-social behaviour, which can be dealt with immediately by the officer at the scene. All Staffordshire officers are being trained in this area.

Kidderminster magistrate concerned about cases dealt with outside court

from the article by William Tomaney in The Shuttle: In the area covered by West Merica Police - Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin - 3,594 community resolutions were handed out in 2010/11, compared to 2,167 in 2009/10. Chairman of the bench at Kidderminster Magistrates Court, Jill Gramann, said magistrates thought the figure was too high.

Restorative Justice in the Greater Manchester Police

from the report by Baxter, Schoeman and Goffin called Innovation in justice: New delivery models and better outcomes: ....The first of the five aims, to reduce crime, is an area where GMP has had significant success in recent years. A key part of the crime reduction strategy is to “make more use of Restorative Justice to give victims the opportunity to challenge offenders and make them understand the consequences of their behaviour”. In a criminal Justice context, victims are given the chance to tell offenders the real impact of their crime, to get answers and to get an apology. This helps offenders understand the real impact of what they’ve done and holds them to account for it while also helping victims to get on with their lives. To some extent, RJ runs counter to the culture that developed within police forces in response to central government targets because it can adversely affect the statistics traditionally used to assess police performance. Performance was measured against targets such as the numbers of sanctioned detections (where an offender is charged, cautioned, reported for summons, reprimanded, the offence is taken into consideration or where a fixed penalty notice is issued), the numbers of stop and search events and numbers of arrests. The last of these central government policing targets was removed in 2010.

Pioneer justice scheme is working in Norfolk

From the article by Peter Walsh: Norfolk Constabulary is committed to becoming part of the first truly restorative county in the country by 2015 and has been singled out as a force which actively promotes restorative justice by bringing victims and offenders together to discuss an outcome without it having to go through the court system. More than 17,000 people have been through the restorative justice process since November 2007 with a total of 4,611 interventions.

London riots and restorative justice

Thank you for posting this. There seems to be an opportunity now to apply this knowledge to the aftermath of the riots in London. I [...]

Restorative approaches can make a difference in the relationship between local government bodies and the communities they serve

from the article by Carey Cake and Kirsten Cooper in British Politics and Policy and LSE: ....Since November 2007 over 9,000 people have been through the RJ process. Of those: 89% of participants were satisfied with the outcome 87% of participants feel RJ is effective in dealing with crime and ASB 93% of participants would recommend RJ 93% of participants are satisfied with their treatment 83% of participants are confident in the police and partners ability to deal with crime and ASB having been exposed to RJ

Community Capacity Varies and Needs to be Factored

Addressing variations in any police, court or diversion process is important but likely to fall short of expectations. If one looks at the intent and [...]

Exercising Discretion: The Gateway to Justice

A study by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate on cautions, penalty notices for disorder and restorative justice In 2009, 38 per cent of the 1.29 million offences ‘solved’ by police were dealt with outside of the court system. We found that the use of out-of-court disposals has evolved in a piecemeal and largely uncontrolled way. An earlier public survey conducted on behalf of HMIC confirmed general public support for giving first-time offenders a second chance – which out-of-court options certainly offer; but this public support ebbs away when they are used for persistent offenders. Our work also suggested that victim satisfaction is high when offenders take part in RJ approaches. RJ, used appropriately, may also reduce re-offending.

Restorative justice vs perfomance targets....

from UKPOLICEONLINE Discussion Forum: Hello all, My force are introducing restorative justice as an alternative to court, and this will primarily be aimed at young offenders. Restorative justice has received a mixed reception and was hoping forum members could share their thoughts and experiences from their own forces. I think its a good idea, and a move away from chasing performance targets has got to be a good think, or are performance targets still applied?? any thoughts gratefully received. Read the interesting responses....

Lancashire's restorative justice scheme criticised

from Sam Chadderton's article in the Lancaster and Morecambe Citizen: The use of restorative justice is ‘inconsistent’ across Lancashire police, according to a report. The tactic often involves offenders coming face to face with their victims and apologising or making amends either instead of, or as well as, a more formal punishment.

Highbridge park shooting resolved with 'restorative justice'

from Burnham-On-Sea.com: The teenager accused of shooting a boy in the face with a BB gun in a Highbridge park last weekend has been dealt with by means of restorative justice, police said on Thursday (May 27th). The youngster was called into Burnham police station where he met his 10 year-old victim to discuss Saturday's incident in Apex Park near Mallard Place, which was exclusively first reported on Burnham-On-Sea.com here.

North Wales Police chief to step up restorative justice

from BBC News: The new chief constable of North Wales Police is stepping up a system of restorative justice where offenders apologise to their victims. Mark Polin says he believes the strategy can play an important role in crime reduction. It is also seen as a way for first-time offenders to alter their behaviour without receiving a criminal record.