Juveniles

Articles discussing the use of restorative processes with juvenile offenders.

Restorative Justice

More restorative justice needed in Canada; less prisons, please!

Review: Child victims and restorative justice: A needs-rights model

from the article by Bill Lyons in Law & Politics Review: ....Combining the right to participate from the Convention on the Rights of the Child with an empirical analysis of a child's need to regain control, participation emerges as a critically important need and right for at least three reasons. First, for immediate instrumental reasons, participation is both an immediate coping mechanism and is expected to improve criminal justice outcomes. Second, for longer term developmental reasons, meaningful participation in experiential learning opportunities is a developmental step toward empowering young adults to master the problem solving skills necessary to make democracy both possible and desirable.

Restorative justice may not work for all young offenders

Pamela, Thank you for the very interesting perspective and the insights from yours and others research. Being an advocate of restorative justice and doing a [...]

A review of the Youth Justice System in Northern Ireland

from the report by the Department of Justice Northern Ireland: One of the most positive developments to have arisen out of Northern Ireland’s recent history is the expansion of rich and varied restorative practices. Restorative approaches have been used to respond to offending and anti-social behaviour, family disputes, disruptive behaviour in schools and children’s homes and in helping prisoners reintegrate back into their communities. Early teething problems have been largely overcome and professional practice in restorative justice in Northern Ireland is now internationally recognised.

Restorative Justice

Restorative justice can give great results that provide healing. While these restoration processes may not be suitable for all cases, we have to understand that [...]

Be Critical

I think it is refreshing and important for us to step back and take a look at cases where the process of restorative justice is [...]

Inclusive Practice

It is because of the poor language skills that many young offedmers have that I am interested and current,y collecting best inclusive practice in the [...]

Restorative justice may not work for all young offenders

from the commentary by Pamela Snow on The Conversation: Educating young offenders about the consequences of their crimes is a key way to ensure they don’t re-offend. But bringing them face to face with their victims may not always be the right way to go. Young offenders often suffer long-term abuse or neglect. They frequently fail to achieve academically, and have few, if any marketable employment skills. They face elevated risks of mental health problems and early and problematic substance abuse.

Six Brazilian states are using the restorative juvenile justice of Terre des hommes

from the article on AlertNet: In September 2011, representatives of the legal authorities, public prosecutors, lawyers, non-governmental organisations, adolescents and families from six states in Brazil came together, all in agreement on the fact that restorative juvenile justice should be implemented in the current law system.

Six Brazilian states are using the restorative juvenile justice of Terre des hommes

from the article on AlertNet: In September 2011, representatives of the legal authorities, public prosecutors, lawyers, non-governmental organisations, adolescents and families from six states in Brazil came together, all in agreement on the fact that restorative juvenile justice should be implemented in the current law system.

Child Justice Act undercut from within

from the article by Don Pinnock in the Mail & Guardian Online: Even before it began the rocky climb through the parliamentary process, the Child Justice Bill was considered to be internationally path-breaking legislation. It was born in the euphoria of the early 1990s in a country where youth had been considered politically lethal, whipping was a sentence, imprisonment the standard response to wrongdoing and torture considered a legitimate interrogation method. The new legislation sought to provide restorative justice by diverting child offenders from this punitive justice system and keeping them out of prisons, which simply hardened criminality. It devised ways to work with offenders and victims to restore harmony in the community where the crime took place. Punishment would be tailored to the crime and dealt in a way that maintained the self-respect of the offender as well as the approval of both community and victim.

"Restorative justice" to reintegrate youth-at-risk into society

from Wayne Chan's article in ChannelNewsAsia.com: Minister of State for Home Affairs, Masagos Zulkifli recommended using "restorative justice" to divert delinquent youth away from the court justice system. He said this at the 1st Singapore Restorative Conference which kicked off on Thursday.

Law is more than a profession, it's a calling: "Making a difference" through restorative justice

from the article by Michael C. Deering: Before entering law school, a soon-to-be attorney dreams of “making a difference.” He dreams of representing clients as he advocates for truth and justice, as he lends his voice to those who cannot speak, as he defends the innocent and the young, and sets the wrong to right. Then, reality sets in. Dreams of justice and zealous representation give way to stress and the everyday rigors of law school. Reading, briefing, and writing overwhelm the student. After three years of arduous work, the student graduates. Facing bar preparation, job searching in an economy that causes seasoned attorneys to shudder, and a mountain of educational debt, the graduate accepts work wherever he can find it.

Police back multi-agency hubs to reduce offending

from the article by Neil Puffett in Children and Young People Now: The youth justice system is set to benefit from increased multi-agency working between police, education, social care and health teams across London that will provide massive public sector savings, the UK's lead police officer for children has claimed. In an exclusive interview with CYP Now, Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Ian McPherson, who is lead on children and young people at the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said the "multi-agency safeguarding hub" concept, pioneered in Devon, will divert children away from the criminal justice system and could lead to big savings.

Phoebe Prince bullies sentenced, but how do they make things right?

from Stacy Teicher Khadaroo's article in Christian Science Monitor: Five teens who faced criminal charges for bullying in connection with the 2010 suicide of Phoebe Prince in South Hadley, Mass., have been sentenced to probation and community service. While the courtroom chapter of the drama in central Massachusetts is largely over, bullying-prevention advocates hope that the work of “restorative justice” has just begun. Now, they say, the defendants should use their experience to help other young people steer clear of bullying and the deep harm it causes.

Private homes shun restorative justice

from Neil Puffett's article in Children & Young People Now: Vulnerable children are being unnecessarily criminalised because of a reluctance to deploy restorative justice techniques in private children's homes, a report has warned. Government statistics show that between 40 and 49 per cent of children entering custody have been in care at some point despite the fact they make up just 0.5 per cent of the total population of children.

Restorative justice as an alternative approach to juvenile offences

from the article by Our American Generation: Restorative justice is an especially advantageous alternative for juvenile offenders because it necessarily involves the consideration of potential extenuating circumstances that may have impacted a young individual’s decision-making. The retributive model fails to effectively handle juvenile offending largely because it lacks this holistic perspective that is needed to identify the root causes of delinquency. By examining the motivations behind delinquency and the totality of circumstances that surround juveniles, an overall better understanding of conflict is reached and offender rehabilitation is much more attainable.

Youth justice report claims restorative justice would be more effective than courts

from Joe Lepper's post on Children & Young People Daily Bulletin: The government is being urged to deal with the majority of young offenders in England and Wales through restorative justice conferences rather than the courts, in a report on youth justice hearings. The report, called Time For A New Hearing, is based on an international comparison of how young offenders are dealt with and found that restorative justice conferences are more effective than courts in reducing reoffending.

Restorative justice after mass violence: Opportunities and risks for children and youth

abstract from the UNICEF Innocenti Working Paper by Laura Stovel and Marta Valinas: There is growing interest in the role that restorative justice can play in addressing mass atrocities. This paper describes the associated principles and practices within juvenile justice systems and in societies emerging from mass violence. It also examines the meaning, opportunities and limitations of restorative justice in transitional societies, particularly in relation to the needs of young victims and offenders.

Axing the Youth Justice Board could be a bold step

from Rod Morgan's article on guardian.co.uk: For the past few months I have argued that a question mark should hang over the continued existence of the Youth Justice Board. There may yet be a downside to its abolition, announced in the quango cull. But I am not in mourning and doubt I will be.... What should be done? First, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Home Office and Department for Education should jointly ensure that there is more out-of-court diversion of young offenders accompanied by interventions of a supportive nature, based on the lessons of the Scottish children's hearings system.