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Wade, Kate and Swenson, Dean and Sager, Scott and Swenson, Dean and Miller, David and Sager, Scott. An Evaluation: Restorative Justice Programs, Milwaukee and Outagamie Counties

The two counties' restorative justice programs achieved modest success through 2003. For example, the number of participating offenders increased from 461 in 2002 to 520 in 2003. In addition, encouraging results related to recidivism were reported for some of the programs. We independently calculated recidivism rates for one Milwaukee County program and found that 8.8 percent of participating offenders with no prior convictions committed another criminal offense within one year of participation, compared to 27.6 percent of nonparticipating offenders in a control group. We noted concerns with Outagamie County's calculations of recidivism rates, and we could not independently calculate the rates for its programs. (excerpt)

Dignan, Jim. Youth Justice Pilots Evaluation: Interim report on reparative work and youth offending teams

As part of the ongoing evaluation of the pilot Youth Justice Pilots, visits were made to each of the full YOT pilots during May/June 1999 to investigate the processes relating to victim contact, mediation and reparation work being undertaken under the auspices of the Crime and Disorder Act. Within each pilot area interviews were conducted with at least one member of the YOT with responsibility for reparation work, together with a representative from any other agency contracted to deliver reparation services to the YOT1. This brief report is intended to provide a snapshot of progress made and, in particular, to identify issues that have arisen during the first six months that the pilots have been operational. It is intended to inform the guidance that will be provided to future youth offending teams to enable them to increase the effectiveness of the reforms. The report provides an overview of restorative interventions being developed under the auspices of the Crime and Disorder Act, and progress to date in implementing the Act's victim consultation and reparation provisions. The report discusses issues relating to victim consultation and assessment, mediation, reparative interventions and the role and expectations of the courts. It also provides a summary of key policy recommendations and 'good practice' proposals suggested by this evaluation. (excerpt)

Wilcox, Aidan and Young, Richard and Hoyle, Carolyn and Young, Richard. An evaluation of the impact of restorative cautioning: findings from a reconviction study

As the authors of this paper point out, restorative cautioning, in contrast to traditional cautions, aims to encourage the offender to take responsibility for repairing the harm caused by his or her offense. Restorative cautioning consists of a meeting facilitated by a trained police officer. The meeting follows a structured dialogue with the offender about the offense and its implications. The offender participates actively in the dialogue, as does the victim, if present at the meeting. Using findings from a reconviction study, the authors evaluate restorative cautioning. After summarizing and discussing key findings from the study, they conclude that they cannot establish definitively whether restorative cautioning made an impact on re-sanctioning rates or on types and frequency of re-offending.

Lavery, Timothy. Family Group Conferences Offer Promise for Juvenile Cases

This report presents the methodology and findings from an evaluation of the juvenile family group conference program operated by a probation department in rural Illinois. In the study reported, almost every participant in one family group conference was interviewed, including the offender's guardian, the victim, a community member, and the arresting juvenile police officer. The participants were uniformly satisfied with all aspects of the conference. The study also focused on whether youth who would formerly not have been processed by the juvenile system have been brought into the system through the conferences ("net widening"). Program staff pointed out that few juvenile cases in the county were dismissed or resolved informally prior to the inception of the conference program, suggesting that there has not been "net widening." Three conferences that involved the reintegrative shaming of the offender were also observed. Case study program staff reported that from May 1999 to May 2001, only 2 of 26 offenders who had participated in a conference had their cases referred back to court. In both cases, the offenders reoffended, but still subsequently completed their conference agreement. Some of the challenges faced by the conference program have been obtaining the cooperation of multiple juvenile justice system agencies and balancing the goal of meeting victim needs with having the desired impact on offenders. These results are consistent with a recent review of prior research that examined family group conferences. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.

Crime and Justice Research Centre and Triggs, Sue. Evaluation of the Court-Referred Restorative Justice Pilot: Technical Report.

This Report describes the objectives of the court-referred restorative justice pilot evaluation and the methodology used. It also describes the size and characteristics of the various samples and the reconviction analysis. The evaluation covered all referrals for court-referred restorative justice conferences made between 4 February 2002 and 3 February 2003 by judges in the four pilot courts (Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton and Waitakere)[1] for pilot 'eligible' offences. (excerpt)

Youth Justice Board for England and Wales. Summary of the national evaluation of the Restorative Justice in Schools Programme

In May 2000, the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales launched a pilot initiative in two schools in the London borough of Lambeth using restorative justice conferences to tackle exclusions, truancy, bullying and other forms of anti-social behaviour. Following early signs of promise, in April 2001, the Board gained three years, funding under the Treasury's Invest to Save scheme to extend the programme to the borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, and two other London boroughs, which subsequently withdrew from the scheme. (excerpt)

Youth Justice Board for England and Wales. National Evaluation of the Restorative Justice in Schools Programme

The Restorative Justice in Schools programme consisted of nine local Yots working across 26 schools (20 secondary and 6 primary). The contract to evaluate these initiatives was awarded to Partners in Evaluation, a specialist agency with a multi-ethnic team of researchers and a national reputation for conducting evaluations in the fields of health, education, social exclusion and regeneration. The evaluation was intended to explore the following research questions: 1. What are the levels of victimisation, bullying and robbery in the schools in the study? 2. How are restorative justice approaches introduced into the schools? 3. To what extent are participants in restorative justice conferences (victims and offenders) satisfied with the process at the time of the conference? 4. To what extent do the conferences show short-term and long-term effects on the participants' experience of victimisation, robbery and bullying? 5. Do conferences and other restorative justice approaches have wider effects on the nature and frequency of acts of victimisation in the schools involved in the project? 6. Are restorative justice conferences a useful tool in reducing school exclusions? This report shows the findings of the national evaluation. In writing the report, our aim has been to produce a report that is concise and usable, presenting the most important data so that the key findings and messages do not get lost. (excerpt)

Chhana, Rajesh and Hurd, Chris and Spier, Philip and Hurd, Chris and Roberts, Susan and Spier, Philip. The Sentencing Act 2002: Monitoring the First Year

The Sentencing Act 2002, together with the Parole Act 2002, came into force on 30 June 2002. The two acts represented a comprehensive reform of the laws relating to sentencing and parole as contained in the Criminal Justice Act 1985 ("the CJA"). This report considers the impact that the Sentencing Act 2002 ("the Act") has had on sentencing practice during the 12 months since it came into force, in terms of the key changes that were made to sentencing policy. The report draws on an extensive review of judgments delivered by the courts at all levels and an analysis of statistics on a before and after basis. We have presented the last 5 years' statistics, as it is often the case that announced policy changes start to have an impact prior to coming into force. The report also provides a general snap shot of sentencing statistics in the year following the Act's coming into force. (excerpt)

Bargen, Jenny and Clancey, Garner and Luke, Garth and Clancey, Garner and Chan, Janet and Luke, Garth. Regulating Police Discretion: An Assessment of the Impact of the New South Wales Young Offenders Act 1997

This article summarizes results of research on the impact of the Young Offenders Act 1997 (NSW) on the juvenile justice system. Available statistics on the Act's first three years of operation suggest that it has led to a substantial increase in warnings and cautions and a corresponding decline in court proceedings. It has also resulted in an almost 50 per cent drop in the odds of an Aboriginal first offender being taken to court, although this group is still over-represented. The article concludes that the Act has been generally successful in regulating police discretion, but a number of impediments remain. Author's abstract.

Paulin, Judy and Kingi, Venezia and Lash, Barb and Kingi, Venezia. The Wanganui Community-Managed Restorative Justice Programme: An Evaluation

The Ministry of Justice, in consultation with the Wanganui providers, commissioned this evaluation of the Wanganui Community-Managed Restorative Justice Programme in 2003. The programme is funded by central government through the Crime Prevention Unit, Ministry of Justice. The programme was selected for evaluation because it was considered to be well managed and effective. The evaluation objectives were to: 1. describe the programme - its history, the context in which it operates, delivery, objectives and resources; 2. determine the effectiveness of the programme, in relation to its objectives; 3. contribute to the development of best practice principles for community-managed restorative justice programmes; and 4. describe the extent to which this programme has contributed to the further development of the partnership between government and communities. The extent to which the programme has developed its services to meet the needs of M�ori, Pacific, and other cultural groups was also to be examined. (excerpt)

Paulin, Judy and Lash, Barb and Kingi, Venezia and Lash, Barb and Huirama, Tautari and Kingi, Venezia. The Rotorua Second Chance Community-Managed Restorative Justice Programme: An Evaluation

The Ministry of Justice, in consultation with Mana Social Services, commissioned this evaluation of the Rotorua Second Chance Restorative Justice Programme in 2003. The programme is funded by central government through the Crime Prevention Unit, Ministry of Justice. The programme was selected for re-evaluation so that best practice principles for community-based restorative justice programmes utilising tikanga-based practices might be identified. The evaluation objectives were to: 1. describe the programme - its history, the context in which it operates, delivery, objectives and resources; 2. determine the effectiveness of the programme, in relation to its objectives; 3. contribute to the development of best practice principles for community-managed restorative justice programmes utilising tikanga-based practice; 4. describe the extent to which this programme has contributed to the further development of the partnership between government and communities. (excerpt)

Saskatchewan Justice. Use of Adult Alternative Measures in Saskatchewan: 1999-2000 and 2000-2001. Appendices: Alternative Measures Policies

Over the past several years, many agencies and justice organizations have developed alternative measures programs as a way of dealing with conflict. As a result, both the federal and provincial governments have developed policies and guidelines regarding the use of alternative measures and the development of alternative measures programs. This booklet introduces the concept of alternative measures and provides the legislation and policies that govern the use of alternative measures in Saskatchewan. (excerpt)

Beckett, Helen and O'Mahony, David and Doak, Jonathan and O'Mahony, David and Campbell, Catriona and O'Mahony, David and Jackson, John and Campbell, Catriona and Doak, Jonathan and O'Mahony, David. Interim Evaluation of the Northern Ireland Youth Conferencing Scheme

This bulletin presents the interim findings of an evaluation of the recently introduced Northern Ireland youth conferencing initiative. The findings are based on research conducted by the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Queen's University, Belfast and focus on the functioning of the scheme in the early months of its operation, from its inception on the 1st December 2003 until the 31st August 2004. (excerpt)

Polk, Kenneth and Rechtman, Katherine and Alder, Christine and Rechtman, Katherine and Muller, Damon and Alder, Christine. Early Intervention: Diversion and Youth Conferencing - a national profile and review of current approaches to diverting juveniles from the criminal justice system

The Diversion and Youth Conferencing report, commissioned under the Australian Government's National Crime Prevention Programme, provides a national profile of diversionary practices across Australia. It highlights the importance of developing better ways to prevent juvenile crime and recidivism amongst young people. It also examines more cost-effective approaches than incarceration, and promotes diversionary schemes with strengthened links to families and communities. The approaches identified also highlight models of good practice in the field. (excerpt)

Triggs, Sue. New Zealand Court-Referred Restorative Justice Pilot

This study measured the reoffending rate, measured as the reconviction rate, 2 years after a sample of offenders participated in New Zealand's court-referred restorative justice pilot program. The 206 offenders who had participated in a court-referred restorative justice conference had a 2-year reconviction rate of 41 percent, compared to their predicted rate of 45 percent. The reconviction rates for the 10 matched comparison groups ranged from 42 percent to 49 percent (45 percent average). The proportion of the conference group that had not yet reoffended after 2 years was higher than for all 10 comparison groups, but not to the level of statistical significance. The subsequent imprisonment rate for the conference group was 10 percent, which was not significantly different from the average of 12 percent for the comparison groups. The severity of offenses committed did not differ significantly between the conference and comparison groups. Offenders referred to conferences were more likely than those not referred to have fewer and less serious previous convictions and to be traffic offenders. The offender groups with no reduction in reoffending were most likely to be under age 20; to have had their first conviction at age 18 or under; to be Maori; and to have committed burglary, fraud, or serious assault. The study concluded that overall conference outcomes did not significantly affect reoffending rates. Reoffending was assessed throughout the 2-year follow up period and at the end of the 1-year and 2-year follow up periods. The seriousness of reoffending and the subsequent imprisonment rate were also examined. The results for the conference group were compared with their predicted reconviction rates, which were derived from a logistic regression model. The results for the conference group were also compared with the results for 10 matched comparison groups that were selected from eligible offenders who were not referred to the pilot program. 17 tables, 4 figures, and appended description of methodology and group profiles Abstract courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.gov.