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Restorative Justice and Reconviction

The Ministry of Justice (formerly the Home Office) in London released the last in a series of reports on the effectiveness of restorative justice. This report discusses the reconviction rates and cost effectiveness of three restorative justice schemes funded under the Home Office Crime Reduction Programme from mid-2001 through 2004.

Ireland Exploring Further Restorative Justice Implementation

The National Commission on Restorative Justice (Commission) in Ireland has released an interim report on its work to develop a policy framework for expanding the use of restorative justice throughout the country. The report suggests possible pilot projects and describes issues still to be studied.

Legislating the Use of Victim Offender Mediation in Portugal

In July 2007, Portugal enacted "Law no. 21/2007 of June 12" regulating the use of victim offender mediation. The legislation outlines cases in which mediation can be used, the process for referral, limits on mediation agreements, and the criteria for mediators. This article provides a summary of a larger article written by Paulo de Brito, Justice Auditor from the Centre d’Études Judiciares in Lisbon, describing the development of victim offender mediation in Portugal within the larger European framework.

New Guidelines for Implementing Mediation in Europe

In November 2007, the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) issued Guidelines for a Better Implementation of the Existing Recommendation Concerning Mediation in Penal Matters. The document urges member states of the Council of Europe to further develop the understanding and use of penal mediation and restorative justice in all aspects of the criminal justice system.

Introducing Restorative Practices into Scottish Schools

In 2004, the Scottish Executive allocated funding for a 30-month pilot project to introduce restorative practices into schools in three Local Authorities. An August 2007 evaluation report outlines the implementation process for the different areas and the progress made in establishing restorative practices in the school.

Nikolic-Ristanovic, Vesna and Sanja Copic. The position of victims in Serbia: criminal procedure and possibilities of restorative justice.

In the paper, the authors deal with the victim’s position in the criminal procedure, on the one hand side, and the possibilities of implementing restorative justice and its importance for the improvement of victim’s position in Serbia, on the other one. In the first part of the paper, the authors point out victim’s position within the criminal procedure and the noticed gaps, which are particularly reflected in insufficient paying attention to the victim and neglecting of his/her rights and needs. This is opposite to the strengthening of the rights of the accused party that characterizes societies, which are, as our society, on the way of democratization and improvement of human rights. In the second part of the paper, the authors analyze some solutions that introduce elements of restorative justice into our system of criminal response to crime, but from the victim’s point of view. Finally, the authors also point out some further steps that should be undertaken in order to improve the victim’s position, particularly emphasizing the place and role of victim support service, witness service and special facilities in the courts for victims/witnesses, possibilities of using victim-offender mediation before reporting the crime, or staring the prosecution, or as a part of the treatment in the prison etc.

RJ in Moldova: The Institute for Penal Reform

In recent years, the Republic of Moldova has begun using restorative justice processes. This required new legislation and development of pilot projects using victim offender mediation in both juvenile and adult cases. A major supporter and advocate for these changes has been the Institute for Penal reform founded in November 2001.

Attitudes of Victims and Offenders toward Restorative Justice

A June 2007 report from the Ministry of Justice in the UK reports the attitudes of victims and offenders participating in three different restorative justice schemes from 2001-2004. The evaluation shows that the majority of victims and offenders found the restorative justice process satisfactory, with communication being listed as one of the most important elements of the process.

Chankova, Dobrinka and Emilia Staninska. Bulgaria on the Road to Victim-Offender Mediation

Although in the last decade mediation in all fields (civil, labour, penal matters etc.) has had numerous proponents in academic circles and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and has won recognition in wider society, it only recently began to attract the attention and support of policy makers and members of Parliament, and not without a push from outside. (excerpt) PowerPoint Presentation.

Chankova, Dobrinka.Positioning Mediation in Bulgarian Justice System: the New Mediation Act Significance

The year 2004 ended happily for mediation supporters in Bulgaria, when on December 2nd, the Bulgarian Parliament finally adopted the long-awaited Mediation Act. The Act was promulgated in State Gazette N 110 on December 17th, 2004 and enforced on December 20th, 2004. Given that the path towards the adoption of this law was wrought with difficulties, its’ final passage represents a huge success.

Community Justice Centers in Armenia

In 2006, two Community Justice Centers opened in Armenia to provide restorative justice services to first-time young offenders. They were developed by an NGO, Project Harmony, and Armenian law enforcement professionals and educators. In this article, Renee Berrian, programme manager with Project Harmony, provides an overview of the development of the Community Justice Centers in Armenia.

Blad, John and Pemberton, Antony. Implementing Restorative Justice in the Netherlands.

In comparison with other neighboring countries like Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom the development of restorative justice practices in the Netherlands lags behind. All though mediation in the field of civil law is widely practiced and experiments with mediation in criminal cases have been undertaken since the 1980’s the Netherlands still lacks a nationwide program for restorative justice. To facilitate the development of restorative justice in the Netherlands a group of academics, mediators and representatives of various organizations in the criminal justice system have founded the Platform for Mediation in Criminal Justice. One of the primary goals of the platform is to develop a set of standards and principals that can serve as guide for the implementation of restorative justice in the Netherlands and also lays the foundation for possible further legislation in this area. The Platform’s draft ‘Central document’ is the result of the deliberations and debate in the platform. The Central document is the proposed topic of the workshop. Representatives will present the key issues and participants will be asked to reflect on and discuss the choices the platform made on these topics. In particular attention will focus on the relationship with the criminal justice system, the standards for mediators and the position of victims. The input received from the participants will be used for the further development of the document which will be published at the end of 2006. (author's abstract)

Wallis, Eithne. Restorative Justice: Overview and Challenges

Restorative justice is a relatively new concern for many probation services across Europe, but one that has been growing in recent years. Today I want to give you a sense of where we are in the development of restorative justice, and to raise some of the challenges involved in integrating it into probation and criminal justice. (excerpt)

Petterson, Gordon. Restorative justice and the role of the prosecutor/Mediation as an Alternative to Punishment (summary)

The background for establishing a system of mediation between offender and victim in Norway dates back to two central events in the late 1970s The first experimental mediation project was established in 1981 in the municipality of Lier as a part of the project "Alternative to imprisonment of juveniles." (excerpt)

Stern, Pavel. Probation and Mediation Under One Roof (summary)

In 1998 the Criminal code was upgraded and amended. It introduced more alternative penalties that involved probation and probation supervision. At the same time, the initial experimental projects of alternative provisions were evaluated. These demonstrated excellent outcomes. As a result, the Parliament of the Czech Republic approved a governmental proposal and passed the Probation and Mediation Service Act on January 1st 2001. This was a very satisfactory conclusion to the first stage of the process. As for the Probation and Mediation Service, the process of its establishment was both important and very positive. There was a joint effort made by the universities and non-governmental organizations on the one hand, and the support of the government and the State Department of Justice on the other. Therefore, we can see this process as self-sustaining, as Vaclav Havel described it; as something established upon the initiatives and needs coming from everyday practice. It gained the necessary support of the governmental institutions at the right time and opportunity. We can see this as a good example of cooperation between the government and non-governmental sectors, bringing them together and creating important, shared and consensual change in the application of law and social services in the criminal justice sphere. (excerpt)

Moore, Robin. Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programmes for Young Offenders: The Evidence Base so Far

ISSP, the latest in a long line of intensive community-based programs, was designed to include components that previous evaluations have found to be effective in reducing probationers' reoffending. ISSP targets offenders ages 10-17. Unlike many previous intensive programs, it targets offenders both before and after custody. i.e., as a condition of bail supervision, as part of a community-based sentence, and as a condition of community supervision in the second half of a detention and training order (DTO). ISSP targets that small group of habitual and serious juvenile offenders. The program involves increased officer-probationer contact, home-confinement orders, curfews, random drug testing, restitution to victims, electronic monitoring, and offender fees for supervision. Features and objectives of ISSP include education and training, restorative justice, behavioral modification, the development of interpersonal skills, and family support. Key objectives of ISSP are a reduction in the rate of reoffending by at least 5 percent and a reduction in the seriousness of any reoffending. Evaluation findings show that ISSP holds promise for both reducing reoffending and incarceration rates by targeting high-risk juvenile offenders. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.

Vanfraechem, Inge and Walgrave, Lode. Restorative Conferencing in Belgium: Can It Decrease the Confinement of Young Offenders?

From November 2000 through October 2003, five youth courts in the Flemish section of Belgium ran a pilot program exploring the use of restorative conferencing with serious youth offenders. The conferencing program relied on the New Zealand family group conferencing model, which seemed appropriate for more serious offenders. The data collected during the pilot programs are presented here. The results indicate that restorative conferencing can be implemented within the existing Belgium juvenile justice system and that judges, advocates, police officers, and social workers are satisfied with the use of the New Zealand model. Very high rates of satisfaction were also noted among victims, offenders, and their parents. Recidivism may also have been reduced as a result of the conferencing program, with a re-conviction rate of only 22 percent for juveniles who participated in the conferences compared to the 58 percent reconviction rate among juveniles who did not participate in the program. The success of the conferencing program in Belgium opens the door to a feasible approach for reducing the number of juveniles housed in detention facilities. Abstract courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org

Kearns, Michael. Restorative Justice: Integrating Restorative Practice into the English Justice System

Michael Kearns is a serving police office with the Metropolitan Police Service, London, England. At the time of writing this paper, he was on secondment with a Youth Offending Team in Bexley Borough, South London. In the paper he describes his own experiences in various efforts to integrate restorative practices into the English justice system, particularly the youth justice system. In this regard he discusses the origins and principles of restorative justice; the significance of communication for offenders and victims in justice processes; and the aims, structures, and practices of the youth justice system in England following the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, especially with the Act’s emphasis on prevention of offending by children and young people.

Hokwerda, Ytje Minke. Victim-Offender Mediation with juvenile offenders in The Netherlands.

The European Commission’s Grotius II Criminal Programme initiated a project to address the need for better understanding of victim-offender mediation practices with juvenile offenders and justice systems in Europe. Under this project, studies were contracted and research papers produced to examine the situation in a number of European countries. Each study covered the following matters: norms and legislation allowing for the implementation of VOM programs; theoretical frameworks of VOM centers; organizational structure of VOM centers; categories and profiles of juvenile offenses; professional characteristics and job satisfaction of mediators; and advantages and criticisms of VOM. The papers were presented and discussed at a final seminar in Bologna, Italy, September 19-20, 2003. Within the categories mentioned above, this particular paper surveys victim-offender mediation with juvenile offenders in the Netherlands.

Walhin, Lottie. Victim-Offender Mediation with juvenile offenders in Sweden.

The European Commission’s Grotius II Criminal Programme initiated a project to address the need for better understanding of victim-offender mediation practices with juvenile offenders and justice systems in Europe. Under this project, studies were contracted and research papers produced to examine the situation in a number of European countries. Each study covered the following matters: norms and legislation allowing for the implementation of VOM programs; theoretical frameworks of VOM centers; organizational structure of VOM centers; categories and profiles of juvenile offenses; professional characteristics and job satisfaction of mediators; and advantages and criticisms of VOM. The papers were presented and discussed at a final seminar in Bologna, Italy, September 19-20, 2003. Within the categories mentioned above, this particular paper surveys victim-offender mediation with juveniles in Sweden.