Northern Ireland

Provides a listing of articles on restorative justice developments in Northern Ireland. Articles appear in the order in which they were added to the site with the most recent appearing first.

Gadd, Breidge. Making Peace in Northern Ireland.

My original intention was to come here and speak about the role of the terrorist ex-prisoners in reconciliation and restorative justice in Northern Ireland. I will do that, but given the events of September 11th I will shift my talk a bit to address the context that America is facing, and to share some of our own experience with terrorism. It seems to me that whenever there is any sort of threat to the state, the government of that country goes immediately to the adversarial mode: “We’ve got to win...We’ve got to beat somebody, and they’ve got to lose.” In Northern Ireland when the Troubles re-erupted again in 1968, the government went into the same mode and role of “we must defeat the terrorists,” and they saw the defeat of terrorism as the state winning and the terrorist losing. Just as the court system is based on the idea that someone must win and someone must lose, as the Judge [Merrigan] so eloquently pointed out, this discourages the offender from ever taking responsibility for what they have done. (excerpt)

Hall, Michael. Restoring relationships: a community exploration of anti-social behaviour, punishment beatings and restorative justice

For more than thirty years, Northern Ireland has endured much suffering and grief from political and sectarian violence. Michael Hall points out that the people and communities have also been afflicted by a long catalogue of mindless acts of anti-social behavior. Given problems connected with regular police forces in the context of the “Troubles,â€? paramilitary organizations stepped in to police communities and establish political control. Means of enforcement included punishment beatings and shootings. In recent years, however, many have begun seeking alternatives to both government policing and courts and paramilitary systems of control. Restorative justice efforts have emerged at the community level in both Loyalist and Republican areas. This document presents dialogue and ideas from a community-based exploration – including parents, a clergyman, a local merchant, a youth worker, a police representative, workers from restorative justice projects, and young people – to address behavioral problems and potential solutions in Northern Ireland.

Hall, Michael. A journey towards healing: Reflections on a University of Minnesota programme of restorative justice and humanistic mediation

Michael Hall observes that a number of restorative justice schemes have been established in working-class communities in Northern Ireland in recent years. Some emerged as alternatives to punishment beatings and shootings meted out by paramilitary groups. Some arose with a broader aim of dealing with disputes between individuals, in families, and in neighborhoods. Members of the Seeds of Hope Project (based in Belfast, Strabane, and Dublin) participated in a training program in “Victim Sensitive Offender Dialogueâ€? at the University of Minnesota in June 2002. Based on work by Mark Umbreit, this is an approach characterized by a “humanistic mediation style.â€? Following the training, the participants from Seeds of Hope Project gathered to discuss how to adapt what they had learned to Northern Ireland. This paper presents the questions and issues they discussed, with an aim of conveying the personal significance of their training to others and of exploring the potential of this approach in Northern Ireland.

Smyth, Marie. Putting the Past in Its Place: Issues of Victimhood and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland's Peace Process

Statistically speaking, the “Troubles" in Northern Ireland since the late 1960s can be characterized as a “low intensity" conflict. Deaths and injuries per capita were less in those in conflicts in some countries (e.g., El Salvador and Cambodia), and more than those in other countries (e.g., Turkey and Argentina). Yet, for those who suffer directly or indirectly, pain and loss are not matters of statistical comparison on a continuum from better to worse. Their suffering is real to them and often consuming. Northern Ireland is now engaged, sometimes forwardly and sometimes more fitfully, in a peace process. It must as part of this process address the pain and loss experienced by many. In this context, Marie Smyth considers some of the issues surrounding victimhood as a result of the conflict in Northern Ireland. She particularly examines questions concerning the definition and contested views of victimhood. To make this examination concrete, she surveys significant statistics related to victimization during the Troubles. Smyth then explores the role of victims in reconciliation, the possibility of a truth commission in Northern Ireland, justice and closure, and healing.

Gormally, Brian. Community Restorative Justice -- a new bridge between state and people?

In Northern Ireland, then, community restorative justice projects have been an important part of the peace process. They have reduced the incidence of punishment violence, they have engaged ex-combatants in peaceful community activism, they have engaged thousands of people in practising justice in their neighbourhoods, they have reduced anti-social crime and they have spread the radical principles of restorative justice. They are now poised, assuming goodwill on all sides, to form, necessarily gradually and incrementally, a partnership with the statutory criminal justice system that will fully express the new social contract that must be the result of a genuine peace process. Is the Northern Ireland Office prepared to abandon its obstructive position and show the necessary goodwill? (Excerpt)

Gormally, Brian. Justice and the Aftermath of Conflict

The aftermath of conflict leaves a range of legal and political issues to be resolved that relate to justice. It appears to be common ground amongst many of those with practical experience and theoretical knowledge about peace processes and international law that some "just" closure is necessary before a conflict can be regarded as finally over. In this context, "justice" also tends to imply "truth" that is a full disclosure of all the "crimes" committed by combatants during the conflict. This idea is summed up in the phrase: "Before a new leaf can be turned, the old leaf must be read…" Unfortunately, there is no consensus, at least in Northern Ireland, on the character of the justice or the truth that may be appropriate to close the conflict. The fundamental problem is that there is no agreed legal interpretation of the nature of the conflict. Furthermore, in so far as the conflict was waged by the State within a certain legal framework, it is inconsistent with the reconciliatory measures appropriate to a peace process. We will elaborate on these points. (excerpt)

Healy, Julie and McCann, Cathy and Gribben, Marie. School Restorative Conferencing: A positive approach to keeping young people in the school community

The primary aim of the School Restorative Conferencing (SRC) scheme, which opened as a pilot in 2000, is to provide a positive approach to school inclusion for all through a restorative justice model.The project works with schools in the Southern Education & Library Board area and is based in Barnardo's Diamond House Centre, Moy, County Tyrone. (excerpt)

Beckett, Helen 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)

Campbell, Catriona and O'Mahony, David. Mainstreaming Restorative Justice for Young Offenders through Youth Conferencing - the experience of Northern Ireland

The youth justice system in Northern Ireland is quite distinct and different to that in the rest of the United Kingdom or Ireland. It has also evolved considerably in the past ten to fifteen years and there have been very significant changes to its whole philosophy and operation as recently as 2003, with the introduction of a Youth Conferencing Service. The Conferencing Service now deals with young offenders using an approach based around the principles of restorative justice and the very process and structure of the system has changed to incorporate this new approach (detailed below). This paper looks at crime and how the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland deals with young people who have offended. It examines what is known about youth offending in general and looks specifically at a number of innovative approaches to criminal justice practice. The police response to youth offending is examined and their specialist teams of officers who deal with young offenders. The courts and sentencing are then looked at with attention being placed on the new arrangements for holding children in custody. The range of measures introduced following the Criminal Justice Review are then examined, and specifically the youth conferencing arrangements, which adopt a restorative justice model to deal with young offenders. The paper draws to a close with a critical overview of the major changes in our system of youth justice and the possible lessons that can be learnt from an international perspective. (excerpt)

O'Mahony, David and Doak, Jonathan. Restorative Justice -- Is More Better?: The Experience of Police-Led Restorative Cautioning Pilots in Northern Ireland

Under the two programs, juveniles (under 17 years old) who committed an offense were diverted from formal prosecution through a formal caution under a restorative justice approach. Evaluation researchers conducted fieldwork from September 2000 to April 2001. All case files (n=1,861) handled by the juvenile liaison officers in the 2 areas over the duration of the project were reviewed. Attention was given to the types of cases that came to the attention of the liaison officers and how the cases were resolved, categorized as "no further police action," "advice and warning," "caution," or "prosecution." The conferences typically consisted of the officer inviting the juvenile to state in his/her own words what they had done to warrant police action. This was usually followed with a question about the youth's motivation for committing the offense. The facilitator would then inquire about the actual and potential consequences of the act for the victim (not present), the juvenile's family, and the juvenile himself/herself. The conference would result in a cautioning agreement that might include expression of remorse, agreement to pay for damage, a written apology to the victim, and agreement to perform certain duties or engage in prescribed behaviors. Evaluators conducted interviews with 29 participants, their parents, and their victims. All participants valued the philosophy underlying the programs and viewed their implementation as appropriate and effective; however, there were two major areas of concern identified by evaluators, i.e., the risk of "net-widening" (drawing offenders into police processing who would have previously received only a verbal caution or warning from police) and the lack of significant victim participation in the programs. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.

Chapman, Tim. Learning to be Restorative.

The development of restorative justice in Northern Ireland is set in the context of a history of violent civil conflict and the contested nature of the relationship between the state and local communities. The peace process has included a fundamental review of criminal justice. One of its conclusions was to develop restorative justice for young people who commit criminal offences. In Northern Ireland there is a thriving community restorative justice sector. However, its relationship with the state sector is problematic due political issues over policing. The Police Service for Northern Ireland use restorative processes for the cautioning of young people. More recently the Youth Conference Service, part of the Youth Justice Agency, has been established to provide youth conferences for young people who have persisted in their offending. Youth conferences include the young person responsible for the harm, his or her family and supporters, the person who has been harmed, his or her supporters, a police officer and a youth conference co-ordinator. Only the most serious criminal offences (e.g. murder) are excluded from conferences. As long as the young person consents, a conference is held in almost every case in Northern Ireland. (excerpt)

Chapman, Alice and McAllister, Mary Jo. No soft solution, the effectiveness of youth conferencing in Northern Ireland -- How victims and offenders of serious crime prefer it to the traditional system.

The Belfast Agreement 1998 set out new directions for government in Northern Ireland including criminal justice. It formed the Criminal Justice Review to review the whole criminal justice system and to produce a range of recommendations. Amongst many other matters it recommended that restorative justice should be at the core of the Northern Irish youth justice system. Subsequently the Justice [NI] Act 2002 provided legislation for the establishment of the Youth Justice Agency and the Youth Conference Service to facilitate youth conferences according to restorative justice principles. A restorative youth conference is available for any offence except an offence for which if the young person was an adult would require a period of life imprisonment.(excerpt)

McEvoy, Lesley and McConnachie, Kirsten and McEvoy, Kieran. Reconciliation as a Dirty Word: Conflict, Community Relations and Education in Northern Ireland.

"I am not really interested in reconciliation. It is a term that has been so used and abused; it's a dirty word as far as I am concerned." The comment above emerged in fieldwork undertaken by one of the authors on the role of ex-combatants in the peace process in Northern Ireland. At first glance, it appeared somewhat paradoxical. The individual concerned, a former Irish Repbulican Army (IRA) activist, has been involved in reconciliation work for almost ten years: finding alternatives to violent punishments against anti-social offenders and reconciling these individuals with their victims and communities as well as cross community work with Loyalist activists. Despite this involvement in challenging and practical aspects of reconciliation, this man and many of his Republican and Loyalist counterparts are deeply suspicious of the term. This paper explores that disconnect. (excerpt)

Northern Ireland Office. Draft Protocol for Community-based Restorative Justice Schemes.

This paper recognises the finding of the Review of Criminal Justice that community-based restorative justice schemes (“schemes”) can have a role to play in dealing with the types of low-level crime that most commonly concern local communities. It seeks to establish a framework for relations between the criminal justice system and the community-based schemes by setting in place a Protocol for the operation of the schemes in line with the Review’s recommendations. That framework is based on schemes’ compliance with the rule of law and full cooperation with statutory agencies, including the police, in implementing this Protocol. (excerpt)

Eriksson, Anna. Researching Community Restorative Justice in Northern Ireland: A cross-cultural challenge.

Northern Ireland is often viewed from the outside as one “country,” and hence not an obvious site for cross-national research. However, Northern Ireland is still a sharply divided society more than a decade on from the 1998 peace agreement. The differences between the two communities when viewed from within, however, are even more significant than first anticipated and there are sharp divisions with regards to culture, politics, history, and social context. Two particular challenges arise from research within such a context: firstly, the legitimacy and validity of findings in a society where there are many fiercely contested versions of “the truth”; and secondly, the consequences of the researcher being viewed as an “outsider.” This article will not suggest absolute answers to the challenges of cross-cultural research in a violently divided society, but rather raise points for consideration and debate. It will conclude that a cross-cultural methodology can address several weaknesses inherent in the often too generalized cross-national studies of divided societies. (Abstract courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.gov).

Eriksson, Anna. A Bottom-Up Approach to Transformative Justice in Northern Ireland.

This article explores community-based restorative justice projects run by political ex-prisoners and former combatants in Northern Ireland, initiatives which are dealing with everyday crime and conflict in local communities in a period of transition. It is argued that restorative justice can act as a facilitator, both for individuals within the community and between communities and the state, when violence-supporting norms are expected to be replaced by nonviolent approaches to conflict and its resolution. The article also argues for a greater role for criminological approaches to crime, punishment and justice within transitions, recognising the strengths of criminology to address underlying causes of continued violence in postconflict settings. In particular, this article investigates attempts by these initiatives to build bridges between historically estranged communities and the police, and argues for the possibility of restorative justice becoming a catalyst for transformative justice during times of rapid social change. (author's abstract)

O'Rawe, Mary. Security system reform and identity in divided societies: Lessons from Northern Ireland.

When a divided society attempts to make the transition from violent confl ict to peace, it must engage with what in past governance arrangements made harmonious communal living so dysfunctional and seemingly impossible. Th e new dispensation will, among other things, face the daunting challenge of rehabilitating those state institutions most responsible for violations of human rights. Security system reform (SSR) is generally writ large in any transitional justice “to do” list. However, the reform of organizations cannot be seen as an end in itself. Such reform only adds value to the extent that it provides an entry point to address deeply felt, often identity-based grievances and paves the way for wider systemic and holistic engagement, which facilitates people of diff ering backgrounds, views and aspirations to feel respected, safe and secure. In societies split dysfunctionally and violently along evident identity fault lines, the challenge of guaranteeing security requires not piecemeal reform of police and/or military organizations, but a holistic, “whole of governance” approach, with respect for human dignity and diversity as cornerstones of any change process. How diff erent identities are recognized and accommodated in terms of garnering support for the SSR process through the design and implementation of specifi c reforms, although only one issue requiring consideration, can be central to the legitimacy and success of the SSR project. (excerpt)

Consultative Group on the Past. Report of the Consultative Group on the Past.

The Group proposes the establishment of a Legacy Commission, which would deal with the past by combining processes of reconciliation, justice and information recovery. Its overarching objective would be to promote peace and stability in Northern Ireland, and its activities and decisions would be guided by that perspective. It would address both society issues, on which it would work closely with CVSNI, and legal processes. (excerpt)

Harry Mika. COMMUNITY-BASED PEACEBUILDING:A CASE STUDY FROM NORTHERN IRELAND1

Drawing upon a careful assessment of community efforts to reduce paramilitary punishment violence in Loyalist and Republican working class areas of Northern Ireland, this paper explores the impact of former combatants as agents of the peace process. Conventional terrorist, peacekeeping (DDR), and transitional justice discourses largely discount even the possibility of a competing model of justice ‘from below,’ an orientation that seeks to leverage ‘local’ stakes in reconciliation, regeneration, development and sustainable peace. Findings of a multiyear evaluation of community-based restorative justice innovation are reviewed, involving the active participation and leadership of ex-combatants and the cooperation of paramilitary formations.

McEvoy, Kieran. Re-imagining DDR Ex-combatants, leadership and moral agency in conflict transformation

Drawing upon criminological studies in the field of prisoner rehabilitation, this essay explores the relevance of the Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR) framework to the process of conflict transformation in Northern Ireland. In a similar fashion to the critique of ‘passivity’ offered by, for example, the ‘strengths based’ or ‘good lives’ approach to prisoner resettlement and reintegration more generally, the authors contend that the Northern Ireland peace process offers conspicuous examples of former prisoners and combatants as agents and indeed leaders in the process of conflict transformation. They draw out three broad styles of leadership which have emerged amongst ex-combatants over the course of the Northern Ireland transition from conflict—political, military and communal. They suggest that cumulatively such leadership speaks to the potential of ex-prisoners and ex-combatants as moral agents in conflict transformation around which peacemaking can be constructed rather than as obstacles which must be ‘managed’ out of existence. (author's abstract)