Restorative Practice

Minister Ford hosts Restorative Approaches Event

 Justice Minister David Ford MLA  hosted an event ‘Showcasing and Expanding Restorative Approaches in Northern Ireland’ in the Long Gallery  Parliament Buildings 6th February 2012 to highlight the work of a range of groups and organizations – voluntary, statutory, community and schools– using restorative approaches. It was attended by over 100 representatives and by ministers from the Department of Education and Justice.

 The organizing group consisted of representatives from key organizations including Mena Wilson FGC Forum (NI).

 The Restorative Justice Forum NI is an umbrella body for groups working to promote restorative practice and includes wide representation from the voluntary sector, statutory agencies, the judiciary and magistracy, church bodies, educationalists, Family Group Conferencing, Northern Ireland Alternatives and Community Restorative Justice Ireland. The event looked at how restorative approaches are being used not just in the criminal justice system but in the community, schools, children’s homes, families and the workplace to solve problems.”

 Speakers at the event all had first–hand experience of restorative approaches in action.  Judge David Smyth opened the event before Justice Minister Ford welcomed guests and speakers. Yvonne Adair of the Youth Justice Agency, keynote speaker Greater Manchester Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan and Colin Holmes of Integrated College Dungannon  reflected on their experiences of restorative approaches. Other organizations that use restorative approaches like Family Group Conferencing Forum (NI), Extern and Barnardo’s showcased their work through exhibition stands which participants viewed and used as an opportunity to find out about the work in more detail.

 One of the highlights was the contributions of pupils from Integrated College Dungannon speaking about restorative approaches in action in the school setting.

 Following a light lunch and the presentations, there was a well attended facilitated discussion in the Long Gallery with the speakers.

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE MODELS

In Northern Ireland, developments in family group conferencing are seen as part of a continuum of practice that includes a range of restorative models.

The Criminal Justice Review Report (2000), part of the Belfast Agreement 1998 (known as the Good Friday Agreement), made a number of recommendations on restorative justice that were enacted in the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002. This Act introduced youth conferencing in the criminal justice system for children. Conferencing can be used at two stages: as a pre–court diversion by the Public Prosecution Service or by the Youth Court. The Youth Justice Agency has responsibility for this process. The service began rolling out across Northern Ireland in 2003 and this was completed in December 2006, with full–time conference co–ordinators now employed by the Youth Justice Agency. The service was evaluated by Queens University in 2005 (Campbell et al, 2005).

The Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 also provides for two other new community–based orders for the youth court. These are the reparation order and the community responsibility order. Both orders have a restorative element, in that they seek to assist the child who has offended to consider how their offence has affected the victim or victims and their community, and to work at how to restore the damage caused to these relationships.

In addition the Youth Justice Agency is developing its practice in the use of family group conferencing for young people reintegrating into the community as part of a Juvenile Justice Centre Order.

Since 1998, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has been developing approaches utilising interventions that promote a restorative response to crime and anti–social behaviour, particularly in relation to young people. A new youth diversion scheme ensures the use of the restorative process in the delivery of its diversionary cautions.