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Restorative Justice: Pushing the Boundaries - Empowering Young People to Influence Policy & Practice

Explore definitions, reasons, cost-benefit analysis, standards, innovations, and implications of restorative justice with Dr. Theo Gavrielides at the College of Mediators conference. Discover the impact on victims, offenders, communities, and society at large. Get insights into innovative restorative practices and what lies ahead in this transformative field.

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Restorative Justice: Pushing the Boundaries - Empowering Young People to Influence Policy & Practice

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  1. Restorative Justice: pushing the barriers College of Mediators conference, 2 July 2010, South Bank University Dr. Theo Gavrielides IARS Director, Visiting Senior Research Fellow Open University (UK), Visiting Scholar Mount Royal University (Canada) Empowering Young People to Influence Policy & Practice

  2. Synopsis: • Definitions & (mis)understandings • Why restorative justice? • Standards versus innovation? • Being serious about restorative justice • What’s next? Empowering Young People to Influence Policy & Practice

  3. Definitions • Definitional ambiguity & conceptual fault-lines (Gavrielides 2008) • "Restorative justice is an ethos with practical goals, among which is to restore the harm done by including all affected parties in a process of understanding through voluntary and honest dialogue, and by adopting a fresh approach to conflicts and their control, retaining at the same time certain rehabilitative goals" (Gavrielides 2007). • Practices: Mediation (direct & indirect), family group conferencing, healing and sentencing circles) Empowering Young People to Influence Policy & Practice

  4. Why restorative justice? • Victim satisfaction • Victim monetary/ material compensation • Victim non-material compensation (apology, healing) • Reduction of re-offending (recidivism) • Offender satisfaction • Community impact Empowering Young People to Influence Policy & Practice

  5. Why restorative justice? A cost-benefit analysis: • Based on 342 cases, for every £1 spent on restorative justice, up to £9 was saved in lowering the cost of offending. In total, the 342 cases that were processed through restorative justice saved the criminal justice system £7.29m (Shaplant et al 2008: Ministry of Justice Research Series 10/08) • Miers et al (2001) £177 – £712 per case, Holdaway et al (2001) £410 per case • The average cost per person proceeded against in the courts is £2,700 (Home Office 1999). Empowering Young People to Influence Policy & Practice

  6. Empowering Young People to Influence Policy & Practice

  7. Standards versus innovation? • “While it is good that we are now having debates on standards for RJ it is a dangerous debate. Accreditation for mediators that raises the spectre of a Western accreditation agency telling an Aboriginal elder that a centuries old restorative practice does not comply with the accreditation standards is a profound worry” (Braithwaite 2002) • Internal standards (within the project), national, international Empowering Young People to Influence Policy & Practice

  8. Being serious about restorative justice • Restorative justice may not be punitive but has implications for the offender, the victim, the community: • Risks to suspects (principle of voluntariness, presumption of innocence human rights principle, coercion) • Double jeopardy (Article 6 Human Rights Act) • Risks to child defendants • Principle of proportionality (sentencing) • Power imbalances (gender, age, race, socio-economic status) • Re-vicitimisation Empowering Young People to Influence Policy & Practice

  9. Standards versus innovation? • “Top down standards” (e.g. Legislated, monopolised) • “Bottom up or local level standards” • Constraining values: fundamental procedural safeguards (empowerment, respectful listening etc) • Maximising standards: healing and restoration (property, dignity – promoted and encouraged. • Emergent standards: remorse, apology - allowed to emerge without being forced Empowering Young People to Influence Policy & Practice

  10. Innovative restorative practice • Innovation, standards and accreditation are complementary • Restorative justice is community born – this must be accommodated. Top down approaches will fail • Innovative examples • Hate crime (e.g. Hate Crime Project, SMC) • Post sentencing and in prisons (MEREPS, IARS, Foresee, Hungary, Germany and Belgium) • Sexual Offending (Canada, Austria, IARS) • Domestic violence (University of Athens – IARS) Empowering Young People to Influence Policy & Practice

  11. What’s next? • “Working in partnership: pushing the barriers of restorative justice project • Expert seminar, November 2010 • Consultation and evidence building • University auspices • Independent • Bottom up • Flexible and community based Empowering Young People to Influence Policy & Practice

  12. Dr. Theo Gavrielides T.Gavrielides@iars.org.uk Independent Academic Research Studies (IARS) Waterloo Business Centre 117 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8UL  Office line 20 7960 0219, Fax: 020 7921 0036 www.iars.org.uk Empowering Young People to Influence Policy & Practice

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