Scotland

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

Restorative practices in schools and communities

rom the post by Oana on UFV Centre for Safe Schools" ….A growing international body of research demonstrates that restorative action-based practices in schools contribute to safer and more productive learning environments for both staff and students. In 2004, The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales evaluated a large-scale pilot restorative justice project designed to reduce unwanted behaviors (eg. bullying and victimization, poor attendance) and school suspensions. The comparison study utilized surveys and interviews with 5,000 students, 1,150 staff members, and 600 outside participants. Schools that used restorative action reported: Fewer students who felt that bullying was a problem in their school, and Fewer instances of racist name-calling and bullying, such as hitting, kicking, theft, verbal threats, and skipping class to avoid bullies.

Celebrity chef backs new Scottish Police hate crime scheme

from the news release by Lothian and Borders Police: Celebrity chef Tony Singh is backing Lothian and Borders Police pioneering new scheme for tackling Juvenile Hate Crime. The Edinburgh based TV regular launched the scheme with Deputy Chief Constable Steve Allen, and LGBT Youth Scotland’s Schools Development Manager, Cara Spence, at LGBT Youth Scotland, Leith, on Monday 12th December.

Restorative Practice in Schools

Dear Susanne, Thank you for your comment. There is a lot of work happening in schools. You can find resources on our site at http://www.restorativejustice.org/other/schools. [...]

Restorative Practice

Are there any resources available for school based restorative practice? Or are guest speakers available to talk to groups of members of staff?

Wishaw restorative justice scheme wins praise

from Graham Miller's article in Wishaw Press: A Wishaw restorative justice project has received an accolade at the first Scottish Community Service Awards held recently in Glasgow. The market garden project, which is based on farmland in Netherton, was commended in the skills building category. It has been running for four years and was the brainchild of community service works supervisor Bobby Campbell. It teaches offenders skills including team work, hard landscaping, working machinery and learning all aspects of growing fruit and vegetables, as well as good life-changing skills.

Best Practice Guidance for Restorative Justice Practitioners and their Case Supervisors and Line Managers (Scotland)

from the Introduction: The primary aim of restorative justice is to address or repair the harm caused by an incident or offence. The processes used to achieve this objective can intersect with formal systems or institutions in a number of ways. But it is worth remembering that restorative justice processes can arise naturally and (more or less) spontaneously, without the need for third-party intervention. Expressions of remorse, making amends, healing and reconciliation happen all the time: relationships, families, organisations and society would quickly break down if this were not the case. There are cases, however, where the incident or offence is so serious or complex that it comes to the attention of someone in authority: for example, a parent, teacher, supervisor, manager, police officer, children's reporter, procurator fiscal, sheriff, and so on. The restorative justice ideal is that, whatever else needs to happen, the authority in question gives consideration to what can be done to address or repair the harm that has been caused.

Evaluation released on Glasgow’s Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV)

From the Executive Summary: Glasgow’s Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) formally began on 24 October 2008, with the aim of dramatically reducing gang violence in the East End during an initial two year period, followed by a rigorous and independent evaluation. ....Following intensive engagement with gang members by police officers and community partners, five self referral sessions were held at Glasgow Sheriff Court. 222 gang members in total attended these sessions and 368 have actively engaged with CIRV in the first year, each having given a pledge to stop their violent behaviour. ....On average there has been a 49.2% reduction in the level of violent offending by gang members who have engaged with CIRV. By using gang members to influence fellow gang members, CIRV also aims to affect the behaviour of those who refuse to engage. As such, there has to date been an average 18.5% reduction in violent offending by this disengaged group.

Sharp fall in number of violent pupils expelled or suspended in Glasgow

Police Chief backs justice reform

The chief constable of Scotland's second largest police force has backed plans to scrap short prison sentences in favour of community punishments.

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.

Viewpoint Organisation. National evaluation of restorative justice youth services in Scotland 2008-2009.

Almost all services were able to provide Face-to-Face Meetings (95%), Victim Awareness (95%) and Shuttle Dialogue (90%), which reflects the guidance categories. However, almost half the Restorative Justice processes did not involve any communication processes; the focus of work was predominantly Victim Awareness with the Person Responsible. With this Victim Awareness work, in only around 16% of cases was the Person Harmed informed or involved. Persons Harmed clearly liked the constructive nature of the processes involving direct communication, giving them a sense of closure. Responses from both persons Responsible and Persons Harmed reported the benefits of participating in Restorative Justice processes featuring direct communication. (excerpt)

Kearney, Niall. Issues of affecting victims of severe violence in the context of RJ in Scotland.

SACRO (Safeguarding Communities Reducing Offending) is the largest NGO (non governmental organisation) operating in the criminal justice sector in Scotland. SACRO has pioneered communication between those injured by crime and those responsible since the late ‘80s through its diversion from prosecution and Youth Justice services. Since 2002, a number of requests have been made to SACRO by Criminal Justice Social Work Departments and the Scottish Prison Service to facilitate communication within a post sentence context between those harmed by and those responsible for severe violent crime. SACRO has provided training from David Doerfler, an experienced Victim-Offender Mediator from Texas USA, to meet these requests. This has led to the development of a new SACRO initiative called TASC (Talk After Severe Crime), which operates to date on a limited spot purchase basis. In this new service the words ‘victim’ and ‘offender’ are replaced by: person injured and person responsible. The new service takes its language from the broader human sciences discourse in order to maximise the potential for increased understanding between all those affected. (excerpt)

Brookes, Derek. RJ in Scotland.

There is an increasing recognition in Scotland of the importance of restorative approaches as one way of preventing and responding to antisocial behaviour by young people.The Scottish Executive has recently published Guidance on Acceptable Behaviour Contracts,which contains a section on restorative processes . The approach outlined is currently being tested by several RJ services. (excerpt)

Restorative Justice Consortium.. RJC Response to the Scottish Parliament Alternatives to Custody Enquiry

Restorative Justice Consortium (UK) responds to a July 2002 letter asking for their views on the Scottish Parliament Alternatives to Custody Enquiry.

Duffy, Liz. Support and Supervision.

This workshop will outline Sacro’s support and supervision policy and procedures. It will help participants to understand the purpose and functions of supervision. It will also give an understanding of roles and responsibilities within supervision. It will enable participants to plan and participate fully within supervision. The workshop will also consider structured Annual Performance Review. It will identify where individual support and supervision fits into the overall aims of the organisation.(author's abstract)

Nicol, Billy. Best Practice for Restorative Justice within Restorative Justice Providers and the Scottish Children's Hearing System.

This workshop covered the attempt to evaluate the provision of restorative justice within the Children's hearing system and find ways of helping providers improve.

Robinson, Betty. Restorative Practices in Schools.

Restorative Approaches in Schools in Scotland is a new and very exciting development. Three areas in Scotland, including my area Fife, were part of the Scottish Executive's pilot to reduce exclusions and help restore discipline in High Schools. (Excerpt)

Lloyd, Gwynedd and Weedon, Elisabet and Stead, Joan and Riddell, Sheila and McCluskey, Gillean and Kane, Jean. Restorative Approaches in Scottish Schools: Transformations and Challenges.

This presentation will give some findings from our evaluation of a pilot project funded by the government in Scotland. I will mainly talk in my presentation about some of the important themes, issues and challenges that have emerged from the project. If conference participants wish to know more, they can attend a workshop with two university colleagues and two staff from Scottish schools, one elementary and one high school, offering some real, detailed stories from their schools. My intention is to inform, stimulate and perhaps provoke you with some ideas and to tell (and show you) a little about Scotland. (excerpt)

McAra, Lesley. Welfare in Crisis?: Key Developments in Scottish Youth Justice.

This chapter reviews the history of the Scottish juvenile justice system and analyzes recent reforms. The Scottish juvenile justice system, which enjoyed a high degree of stability from the 1970s through the mid-1990s, has recently undergone significant changes. Despite the inclusion of restorative practices in Scotland’s juvenile justice system, the author warns that youth justice is in danger of losing its distinctive Scottish identity: the protection of children. The Scottish juvenile justice system has historically been based on the Kilbrandon philosophy that the problems of children who offended or were in need of protection stemmed from the same source: failures in the upbringing process and/or broader social ills. A central feature of juvenile justice from the 1970s through the mid-1990s was the children’s hearing system, which considered the best interests of the child as paramount to the disposition. The author contends that a moral panic concerning persistent young offenders and anti-social behavior among youth during the 1990s has ushered in a new era of juvenile justice in Scotland, one that is underpinned by a complex set of penal rationales that, in some cases, locate the interest of society above the interest of the child. The key themes of recent juvenile justice reforms are described, which include a focus on crime prevention and risk management as well as increased system accountability. Police powers have been expanded to allow for the containment of anti-social behaviors, which has had a “net-widening” effect in terms of increasing juvenile contact with the formal justice system. At the same time, restorative practices have been adopted that include victims as key stakeholders in the justice process. The author also considers future prospects for the Scottish juvenile justice system that focus on persistent young offenders, victims’ engagement in the youth justice process, engagement with “failing” parents, and the mobilization of the community in youth justice practice and policy. (Abstract courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.gov).

Lewis, Lesley. Glasgow Restorative Justice Service.

In March 2002 the Scottish Executive announced the award of funding for restorative justice services as an approach to addressing youth offending across Scotland. Thus began a project which cumulated in the launch of a city-wide Restorative Justice Service (RJS) in August 2003. Since its inception 3 years ago the RJS has expanded significantly and has an intrinsic part of the city's approach to tackling youth offending and anti-social behaviour. The service is recognised as a model of good practice nationally.(excerpt)