Restorative Justice in United Kingdom - Term Paper Example

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN UNITED KINGDOM By Location Restorative Justice in United Kingdom Introduction Restorative justice is an approach developed to address the impact of crime because research has revealed that crime has a direct impact on the victims. Court proceedings and sentencing do not address the terror, fear, and devastation that victims of crime experience. Many victims would like to move on with their lives and put the crime behind them. However, it is not possible for them to move on without expressing their feelings to the offenders. Many victims just need a chance with the offenders in order to relate how the crime experience affected them immensely. Restorative justice provides victims with such an opportunity. They are able to encounter the offender through arrangements made by the police or restorative justice officers. The main purpose of restorative justice is ensuring that both the victim and the offender cooperate in repairing the harm resulting from the crime. All the stakeholders must be willing to participate actively if restorative justice is to be effective. The United Kingdom embraces restorative justice to ensure the restoration of justice. Restorative justice highlights that serving justice requires the victims to undergo a restoration process that helps them get over the incident. In addition, the offenders need to embrace responsibility for their crimes recognizing the emotional harm they cause to their victims. In the community, restorative justice serves to maintain public order. There are different programs designed to make restorative justice effective, as this paper will highlight. More specifically, the paper will discuss how restorative justice is in use in the Youth Justice Board in prisons and in the issuing of dispersal orders. The paper will consider the use of the restorative justice in Northern Ireland. In the United Kingdom, restorative justice relies on programs such as victim-offender mediation, conferencing, victim assistance, community service, ex-offender assistance, and restitution. The different restorative programs ensure that offenders, victims, and members of the community can have an encounter that allows them to discuss the process of the crime and its impacts. In addition, the different programs present the offenders with an opportunity to play a critical role in repairing the harms caused by the crime. The restorative programs facilitate the integration of offenders into the society. Restorative justice programs also promote inclusion of ex-offenders in community projects. Restorative justice can take place during any stage of the justice system. In some cases, victims only communicate with the offender after the court proceedings. Through effective facilitation of the restoration justice process, victims can successfully get over the aftermath of the crime and move on with their lives. After the restoration, the victims are no longer afraid of the offenders. The initial encounter with the victim and the offender should take place at a venue that victims consider safe. Some victims prefer the crime scene as the appropriate venue while others settle for a police station or a neutral location (Androff 2012, p. 83). Officers handling restorative justice should ensure that the wishes of the victims receive the first priority. Restorative Justice in the Youth Justice Board The Youth Justice Board comprises of a remarkable number of individuals whose purpose is to ensure that young people committing crime do not reoffend. In addition, the Youth Justice Board seeks to prevent young people from crime and antisocial behaviour. The board is responsible for ensuring that young people receive justice and placing offenders under custody. In order to ensure that the justice system is fair to young people and children, the youth justice board advises the Secretary of State for Justice on the required standards for promoting youth justice. The board has also established young offender institutions as well as training centres for children and young people involved in crime. Young people who are willing to develop potential solutions for preventing crime can enrol into the board and contribute positively to the juvenile justice system (Chapman 2012, p. 580). The Youth Justice Board applies restorative justice in an effort to ensure that young people who commit crimes can take full responsibility for their actions. Many of the youths committing offences have the potential to get back on the right track if they receive relevant guidance. Therefore, the use of restorative justice in the Youth Justice Board seeks to ensure higher levels of victim satisfaction. The young people who commit offences hurt victims badly and such victims need to undergo a restoration process so that they can overcome the adverse effects of the offence and move on with their lives. Many victims need to express their feelings to the young people so that the young offenders can recognize how their actions brought forth negative consequences. The communication with the victim allows them to express their regrets for committing such offences. Worth noting is the fact that restorative justice gives priority to the intentions and needs of the victims. Therefore, the victims decide the direction of restorative justice (Gavrielides 2014, p. 479). The Youth Justice Board seeks to ensure that young people are aware of the restorative process as well as the opportunities it presents for them to participate in repairing the harm they caused. Since one of the objectives of the Youth Justice Board is to reduce crime among the youth, the boards use restorative justice as a strategy of helping offenders recognize the impact of their crime. According to the experiences of young offenders, coming to terms with the impact of the crime and being able to face the victim is of critical importance is changing the offender’s way of life. Worth noting is the fact that restorative justice can be used to resolve conflicts and minor offences among the youth. For example, young people indulging in antisocial behaviour can recognize the adverse effects of their behaviour through the process of restorative justice and the young people can make amends in their lives. Many young people who indulge in crime are unable to take full responsibility for their actions in the justice system. Restorative justice helps the young people who commit minor offences to realize that the path of crime is a wrong one that harms other people and the society. Through restorative justice, young offenders can recognize that they have the potential to contribute positively to the society without indulging in crime (OMahony 2012, p. 560). In the United Kingdom, restorative justice underlies the Youth Justice System. In some areas, there are Referral Order Panels as well as restorative policing who facilitate the restorative justice process. The Referral Order Panels conform to the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act of 1999. Referral Order Panels facilitate the placement of the young people aged between 10 and 17 years who commit an offence for the first time and plead guilty. However, if the young people have committed a serious crime, they have to go through the court process. Young offenders attend panel meetings with their parents in an effort to help them recognize that their offences presented negative consequences to the society and to the victims. Therefore, the Referral Order Panel arranges for meetings between the offenders and the victims depending on the willingness of the victims. The panels facilitate the restorative justice process, ensuring that all the stakeholders play an active role in making amends for the crime committed. On the other hand, restorative policing serves to address low-level crimes, as well as anti-social behaviour in different neighbourhoods. In different regions of the United Kingdom, restorative policing relies on the principles and guidelines of restorative justice in ensuring that young people stay clear of crime (Payne & Conway 2011, p. 60). Restorative Justice in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland has adopted restorative justice in an effort to help victims get over the crime incident. Northern Ireland has both community and state systems that carry out restorative justice. The community systems include programs such as community restorative justice of Ireland, school systems, family group conferences, and children’s services. On the other hand, the state system has programs in place to ensure that restorative justice takes place in prisons through rehabilitation and resettlements. In addition, state systems promote the use of restorative justice in preventing low-risk crimes through police restorative cautioning. In cases of medium risk crimes, youth conference services facilitated by the public prosecution facilitate the restorative justice process. In the case of offenders committing high-risk crimes, youth court referrals facilitate youth conference services. The state gives priority to the use of restorative justice when dealing with young offenders. In Northern Ireland, restorative justice is of critical importance in the promotion of community safety and reintegration. The promotion of community safety occurs through the restorative justice process that ensures offenders take responsibility for the harm they caused and exhibited the determination of becoming better people (Stahlkopf 2009, p. 244). Restorative justice helps the victims to heal from the crime and feel more protected. The core values of the restorative justice process in Northern Ireland include responsibility, relationship, and respect. In the Youth Conference Process, which is one of the programs under restorative justice has three phases. The facilitators of restorative justice arrange for a preconference, the real conference session, and a post-conference discussion. In other cases, restorative justice relies on the dialogue approach. Under this approach, the victim has the opportunity to express his or her emotions to the offender and all the stakeholders can discuss the evident needs and the potential causes of action. Restorative justice in Northern Ireland has proved to be effective in increasing disposal proportions, reduction of reoffending cases, and the decrease in custody cases. Since 2006, restorative justice has seen over 9000 youth conferences with over 50,000 participants. The youth conferences have registered a 70% victim attendance and close to 95% of victim satisfaction. In addition, young offenders have expressed high levels of satisfaction with the youth conferences. Victims have expressed their preference for the youth conference process compared to the traditional court process. Out of every ten victims, eight of them have exhibited a preference for the youth conference (OMahony 2012, p. 570). Restorative Justice and Dispersal Orders The police issue Dispersal Orders in an effort to address anti-social behaviour. The issuing of Dispersal Orders conforms to the Anti-Social Behaviour Act of 2003. Dispersal Orders are in use in different locations in an effort to address different social problems. However, Dispersal Orders target the young people who are prone to crime. The issuing of Dispersal Orders can open up opportunities in the restorative justice process. Specifically, the police prefer dialogue and negotiation in accordance with the principles of restorative justice when handling youth issued with Dispersal Orders. Although the use of v has been under criticism, they have helped many young people stay clear of crime. In cases whereby young people breach the Dispersal Orders, the police can rely on restorative justice in order to prevent more anti-social behaviours in the community (Chapman 2012, p. 583). The Use of Restorative Justice in Prisons The National Offender Management Service is responsible for ensuring that prison services are successful in rehabilitating and reforming offenders. A close analysis of the national context on the use of restorative justice in prisons reveals the need for more efforts in integrating the prison services with restorative justice. However, there is evidence that the local strategic management level uses the restorative justice. At this level, offenders have the opportunity to encounter the victims and listen to the aftermaths of their crimes. Depending on the status of the victim, the facilitators of restorative justice may settle for face-to-face conferences. Research has highlighted that some offenders are willing to engage in the restorative justice process and often request for it. However, not all the victims have the courage to face the offenders of indulging in the restorative justice process. For this reason, the passage of time proves to be a critical challenge in integrating restorative justice with prison services. Since an extended period passes after the offence is committed and court proceedings leading to the conviction, the victim may be unwilling to cooperate at the time of contact. However, restorative justice is not a consideration for victims of sexual and domestic violence. In such cases, expertise intervention is more appropriate (Androff 2012, p. 92). Conclusion Evidently, restorative justice can serve as an effective approach to helping victims of crimes move on with their lives and address the emotional effects of the crime. In addition, it presents an opportunity for the offender to offer an apology to the victim and take full responsibility if the crime. In many cases, the offender and the victim can cooperate in alleviating the harm of the crime. In the United Kingdom, there are different programs that facilitate the restorative justice. In Northern Ireland, restorative justice has been in place since 2006 as described above. Restorative justice has proven efficient in reducing crime among young people as the youth justice board applies it. Prison services are also integrating restorative justice as a strategy of helping offenders repair the harm they caused. Bibliography Androff, DK 2012, Reconciliation in a Community-Based Restorative Justice Intervention, Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 39, 4, pp. 73-96, Sociological Collection, EBSCOhost, viewed 28 March 2015. Chapman, T 2012, The Problem of Community in a Justice System in Transition: The Case of Community Restorative Justice in Northern Ireland, International Criminal Law Review, 12, 3, pp. 573-588, SocINDEX with Full Text, EBSCOhost, viewed 28 March 2015. Gavrielides, T 2014, Reconciling the Notions of Restorative Justice and Imprisonment, Prison Journal, 94, 4, p. 479, Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File, EBSCOhost, viewed 28 March 2015. OMahony, D 2012, Criminal Justice Reform in a Transitional Context: Restorative Youth Conferencing in Northern Ireland, International Criminal Law Review, 12, 3, pp. 549-572, SocINDEX with Full Text, EBSCOhost, viewed 28 March 2015. Payne, B, & Conway, V 2011, A Framework for a Restorative Society? Restorative Justice in Northern Ireland, European Journal Of Probation, 3, 2, pp. 47-73, Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost, viewed 28 March 2015. Stahlkopf, C 2009, Restorative justice, rhetoric, or reality? Conferencing with young offenders, Contemporary Justice Review, 12, 3, pp. 231-251, SocINDEX with Full Text, EBSCOhost, viewed 28 March 2015. Read More