Resolution 33

Summer 2009

News from the Restorative Justice Consortium

Company number:4199237Charity number:1097969

Restorative Practices in the workplace

Restorative Approaches in Lewisham Schools

More news from SORI - Supporting Offenders through Restoration Inside

Essex County Juvenile Firesetters Scheme

A Perfect Match: RJ andA Perfect Match: RJ andProtective BehavioursProtective Behaviours

Can Murder ever beCan Murder ever beForgiven?Forgiven?

An Eventful Journey: An Eventful Journey: RJ andRJ andLeicestershire PoliceLeicestershire Police

R. Andren

ow.We've just come back from theRJC's Summer Conference, ourfirst in Wales, on the theme of

Becoming a Restorative County/LocalAuthority. Hearing from the speakers andworkshop presenters what is already goingon, up and down the country, wasinspirational.

We heard from Julia Houlston-Clarke,Chaplain at Cardiff Prison, about how inter-agency working has taken the SORIprogramme from strength to strength, bothin Cardiff and at six other prisons across thecountry. Speaking of her own experience ofthe importance of getting out oforganisational silos, Julia showed us a slideof Cardiff Prison, saying 'These walls aren'treal.They look real,but they aren't.' This wasa message we can all hear - whether we'reworking in a school, a police force, a YOT, achildren's home, or at the RJC - the 'walls'we put up between our organisations don'tneed to be there; and when we get out thereand make connections, the impact ofrestorative practice can really start tospread out and be much more effective,because all our partner agencies can see thebenefits of a restorative approach.

We heard next from Mark Finnis aboutwhat's happening in Hull as great strides arebeing taken towards Hull becoming arestorative city. Starting from one primaryschool, where Estelle McDonald as Headshowed the profound impact restorativepractices can have on a whole range ofindicators, restorative practice is spreadingthroughout the agencies in the city. One keyindicator stood out. At Endeavor HighSchool, the introduction of restorativepractices led to a huge fall in staff absence -thus saving the school £8,000 in the cost ofsupply teacher cover. Findings like thesereally need to get out there.Everyone in Hullhas recognised what a profound impactrestorative practices can have on the wholeculture and morale of organisations; withconcrete findings like these - and many otherdramatic statistics - coming out of Hull, thisis something teachers and DCSF will bewanting to learn from nationwide.

When we got on to workshops we heardfrom people in Lancashire, Durham,Oxfordshire and Norfolk - people based inpolice, education departments, YOTs - whoare working together across agencies to 'goon a journey' - as Pete Wallis fromOxfordshire YOT described it - towardsbecoming a restorative county or LocalAuthority. The range of different ways thatpeople are working together, and step bystep introducing restorative practice in arange of new areas,and joining it up where it

already exists - is incredibly exciting. A fullwrite up of the conference will be publishedsoon, and presenter's slides are all on theRJC website.

Each area is different;each area has it's ownstory, it's own journey to take, as so much ofthis depends - as we learned throughout theday - on the work of individual people,passionate and committed to restorativepractice - building relationships, bringingpeople on board and showing people acrosstheir area what can be done. A key messageI took away from the day was that althoughrestorative practice needs support frompeople 'at the top' - Chief Constables, PrisonGovernors, Headteachers and Councillors,Chairs and Chief Executives in LocalGovernment for example - so much can andis already being achieved at the grass roots,by individual people just making it happen intheir day to day life and work.

It was great to hear about local networks ofrestorative practitioners forming across thecountry - the RJC will do whatever we can tosupport these networks and help people join- watch out for a new page on our websitesoon for local practitioner networks. AsMark Finnis said, in Hull their aim is to getaway from restorative practice being aninitiative or a project, something seen as anadd on, and instead for it to become 'just theway we do things here'. What was soinspiring about the conference wasrecognising that that applies to all of us.Ourmembers are already making it 'just the waywe do things around here.' How exciting thatthis is something each one of us can do,as weremember, however isolated we feel workingin our particular context, we are part of amuch wider community of people, all of usworking to make restorative practice 'justthe way we do things' across our nations.

Lizzie NelsonActing CEORJC

W

Contents02

03

04/05

06/07

08/09

10

11

12

Introduction and Editor’s note

News in brief

Restorative Justice and ProtectiveBehaviours: A Perfect Match

Can murder ever be forgiven? Arestorative justice case study

An eventful journey:RestorativeJustice and Leicestershire Police

Social Capital in a Civil Society

Improving School Climate:Findings from schoolsimplementing restorative practices

Events

Editor’s note

Resolution is here to reflect RestorativeJustice and Restorative Approaches in alltheir forms and developments. To thisend we welcome your input and ideas.

Please get in touch if you would like tosubmit an article, have suggestions for afeature, share what you would like to seecovered, or to alert us to an event youwish to advertise.

Cover picture by Ronnie Andren

Chris Igoe, EditorE:chris@restorativejustice.org.uk

Resolution is the quarterly newsletter ofthe Restorative Justice ConsortiumAlbert Buildings,49 Queen Victoria St,London,EC4N4SATel:020 7653 1992E:info@restorativejustice.org.ukW:www.restorativejustice.org.ukCompany number:4199273Registered Charity no:1097969

(c) 2009 RJCNot to be reproduced without permission

The articles in this newsletter express thepersonal views of the authors and do notnecessarily reflect the views of the RJC

Introduction

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Leading Think TanksCall for RJThree leading think tanks have led callsfor Restorative Justice to be expandedin the criminal justice system in the lastfew months.

The Institute for Public PolicyResearch (IPPR), the UK's leadingprogressive think tank, hasrecommended the Youth Justice Systembe reshaped to be tiered, preventativeand diversionary including theintroduction of Community JusticePanels, using Restorative Justiceprinciples. The report is supportive ofRestorative Justice as a method ofreducing reoffending and engagingvictims & communities in a way that canbe popular with the general public.

The Local government InformationUnit (LGiU) in their report 'PrimaryJustice' propose a decisive break withthe centralised approach to criminaljustice in favour of devolvingresponsibility and funding to localauthorities.The report recommends that"Restorative justice should be amainstream part of primary justice...there should be an understanding thatthe availability of restorative justice isas important to victims as justicethrough the criminal system."

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) hascalled for a national RJ agency andRestorative Justice Act to provide alegislative framework for RJ expansion.The Act would encourage and expandRJ Conferences in prisons and in thecommunity to rehabilitate prisoners andgive a new recognition and role forvictims in the Criminal Justice System.The CSJ regard RJ as a well-tested butsurprisingly under-utilised method ofprisoner rehabilitation. CSJ also call forpolice officers to be trained to deliverRestorative Justice disposals insituations where they deem aconventional criminal justice disposal tobe inappropriate.

The reports are available through thewebsites of the IPPR, CSJ and LGiU.

United Nations topromote the use of RJin youth justiceOn the 20th March 2009 the UNGeneral Assembly Human RightsCouncil agreed with respect to theadministration of juvenile justice to:“Encourage States… to develop andimplement a comprehensive juvenilejustice policy to prevent and addressjuvenile delinquency as well as with aview to promoting, inter alia, the use ofalternative measures, such as diversionand restorative justice.”

RJ in the MediaRestorative Justice is becomingincreasingly well known by the generalpublic. The rapid expansion ofrestorative practice into neighbourhoodpolicing and education coupled with thegrowing evidence in support of arestorative approach has contributed toan increasing interest from local andnational media.

RJC has supported this by respondingto news stories, by briefing ITV, BBCand Channel 4 producers on thepotential for documentaries andprogrammes involving RestorativeJustice and by giving interviews andcomment on the radio.

If your organisation is receiving negativemedia attention the RJC can help andwe encourage members to get in touch ifthis is the case. It is important that weall do more to promote our successstories and the RJC is delighted to helppublicise your good news stories andresults in any way we can.

For a full round-up of all the latestmedia coverage make sure you receiveour monthly E-bulletin. This resource isavailable to all members andsupporters. It also includes informationon events, vacancies and resources.

To alert RJC to breaking news or toshare your successes stories call 020 7653 1992.

EngagingCommunitiesThe Government's wide-rangingconsultation ‘Engaging Communities inCriminal Justice’ asks how theGovernment should publiciseRestorative Justice and encouragecommunity involvement.

The RJC welcomes the EngagingCommunities Consultation, and withinit, the recognition of the Ministry ofJustice research findings thatrestorative justice both increases victimsatisfaction and can reduce reoffending,thereby reducing the number of victimsof crime in the future.

The RJC has responded to theconsultation, calling for a RestorativeJustice Act to provide sentencers withthe ability to refer adult offenders torestorative justice conferences; and forthe establishment of local restorativepractice services with a RestorativePractice Board to provide nationaloversight.

Community JusticePanels expandThe success of Chard and IlminsterCommunity Justice Panel is leading tosimilar panels based on RestorativeJustice principles being opened locallyand around the country.The CommunityJustice Panel in Sheffield will be thefirst to open in a major city in the UK.

Community Justice Panels are based onRestorative Justice principles in dealingwith low-level crime.The Panels canarrange for victims and offenders tomeet and reach an agreement on how tomake amends for the crime.The processis voluntary and open only to offenderswho have admitted responsibility for acrime.

“It is brilliant that we have been able toexpand the scheme locally so that evenmore people can benefit fromRestorative Justice." Valerie Keitch, Co-ordinator of Somerset CommunityJustice Panel

News in brief

n the 21st May 2009 at Egrove Park,Oxford, 120 people attended thelaunch of the Oxfordshire Young

Victims of Crime project; one of several HomeOffice initiatives intended to improve supportfor young people who have been hurt throughcrime. Pete Wallis, the Restorative Justice leadfor Oxfordshire Youth Offending Service, gavean overview of the project, explaining that itwas founded on two main philosophies -Restorative Justice and Protective Behaviours.In his address Pete commented that'Protective Behaviours and Restorative Justicewere a perfect match'. Many of the audiencewould have been familiar with the principlesand concepts of RJ but it is likely that fewer ofthem had heard of Protective Behaviours(PBs). So what is PBs, how does it work andhow does it complement RJ so well?

Outline of Protective Behaviours

PBs originated in the 1970s in the UnitedStates when a school social worker, PegFlandreau West, responded to a number ofpupils who were coming to her for help. In timeshe observed a pattern; many of these youngpeople had been the victims of abuse -emotional, physical, sexual - and had sufferedin silence, sometimes for long periods, beforeseeking help.

Peg raised her concerns with colleagues,consulted with survivors, professionals, friends,and explored how best to help these youngpeople. This initiative developed into the twoThemes and seven Strategies we call theProtective Behaviours Process.

It has been said that the greatest truths are thesimplest and the PBs Process is based on twovery simple truths or, as we call them, the twoThemes:

Theme OneWe all have the right to feel safeall the time

Theme TwoThere is nothing so awful or smallthat we can't talk about it withsomeone

Supporting the two themes are the seven PBsStrategies:

· Theme Re-inforcement · Protective Interruption · Persistence · Risking on Purpose · One Step Removed · Network Review · The Language of Safety

of safety.

Theme One also highlights the links betweenrights and responsibilities. If we have the rightto feel safe we have a correspondingresponsibility to avoid behaviour which mightleave others feeling unsafe. If we have harmedsomeone else, we have a responsibility to takeaction to repair that harm.

PBs highlights the 'ability to respond'contained within the meaning of'responsibility'. The 'ability to respond' appliesto all parties. For the person who has beenharmed it is important for them to be able tovoice the effect the incident has had on them.For the person who has caused the harm, anopportunity to respond allows them to takeresponsibility for their actions. RJ provides anopportunity for these things to happen,empowering participants with the ability torespond. Enabling participants to becomefamiliar with PBs concepts prior to theirmeeting provides an ideal starting point for anRJ meeting

Theme Two encourages people to develop apersonal support network which they can callupon when they have identified that they arefeeling unsafe.This could assist participants inidentifying supporters they would wish toattend an RJ meeting with them. The need forSafety will often be raised in RJ meetings andhaving an effective support network would be

Protective Behaviours and RestorativeJustice

So how and why do PBs and RJ complementeach other so well?

The concept of safety is central to bothapproaches. PBs was a response to the needsof individuals who had been victimised and RJfocuses on the effects of conflict on people,including their needs in the aftermath of anincident.

Fundamental to the PBs process is theaffirmation in Theme One of the right to feelsafe. Encouraging people to believe they havethis right gives them the confidence to seek helpwhen they feel unsafe.This is of benefit in thecontext of both prevention (keeping safe) andas a response to an event where we havesuffered harm or felt unsafe.

If someone's right to feel safe has beentransgressed, PBs emphasise the importanceof Persistence - persisting in seeking help untilthey feel safe again. This might includeattending an RJ meeting which illustratesanother strategy - risking on purpose. Meetingthe person who caused you harm entails adegree of risk.The goal of PBs is that, despiteyour experience, you will be able to continue tolive a confident and fulfilling life, not having tocurtail your lifestyle because of fear. Attendingan RJ meeting is a crucial opportunity for allparties to regain their confidence and feelings

Restorative Justice and Protective Behaviours: A Perfect MatchO

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The Oxford Young Victims of Crime project uses easy to understand tools to reinforceProtective Behaviours Themes. Above is an example exercise undertaken with youngpeople to identify and review who they turn to for help and advice. Each fingerrepresents a person they could ask for support, the palm represents sources of selfsupport and emergency contacts are kept up the sleeve.This exercise could be used tohelp young people identify who they would like to support them at an RJ meeting.

Personal SupportNetwork

We all need to make choicesfor ourselves.

We do not need to makethese choices byourselves.

Persistence: we need to keep talking tothe people on our network until ourconcern goes away or we feel safe again.

The Oxfordshire Young Victims of CrimeProject was initially a 6 month HomeOffice funded project which ran betweenDecember 2008 and May 2009. Theprimary aim of the pilot was to develop ahigh quality manual and resource packdrawing on Protective Behaviours andRestorative Justice principles, to be usedby practitioners working with youngvictims to reduce the harm caused andhelp them in their recovery. During thepilot phase the materials were deliveredby specially recruited and trained projectsupport workers to young victims whohad been referred to the project throughvarious pathways including from VictimSupport, the Education and Health

The 'Language of Safety' is the glue whichholds all the PBs elements together. Itencourages the use language which is clear,empowering, non-victimising and non-violent. Itconfirms that language is a powerful tool informing and maintaining healthy relationshipsand a positive self-image. By using this modelwe are observing our responsibility to respecteveryone’s right to feel safe. Restorativeprocesses also emphasise the need for care withlanguage and communication. For exampleduring the establishment of ground rules for ameeting there is an emphasis on respecting oneanother, on listening and not interrupting. Therestorative approach, like PB's, helps establisha mindset that isn't just about specific incidentsand events - it gradually becomes integratedinto every situation and action, helping tomaintain a responsible, adventurous andhealthy attitude to life that is optimistic for thefuture.

Conclusion

The PBs Process is essentially a framework ofideas which provides guidance on how torespond positively to challenges in all aspect ofour lives, to keep ourselves and others safe. Itsclarity, simplicity and coherence make itaccessible to everyone - young people,adolescents and adults of all abilities, lifestylesor belief systems. At the same time it can besurprisingly subtle when the essential conceptsare applied to our personal interactions. Withits emphasis on the right to safety,networks andproblem-solving strategies, it has becomeestablished throughout the UK in varioussettings - abuse prevention, crime prevention,parent support, counselling, sex andrelationship education, peer mentoring, drugeducation. It has already been adopted by anumber of RJ projects around the country and

ehaviours: A Perfect Matchof great value in assisting someone to regain theconfidence they may have lost as a result of theharm they have suffered.

Theme Two confirms the importance of talkingas a means of keeping safe or regaining thefeeling of safety - not only talking with yoursupport network but also with the person whocaused you harm.Theme Two therefore providesan ideal platform on which to develop an RJmeeting.

The interaction between feelings, thoughts andbehaviour is central to PBs. People areencouraged to identify and value their feelingsas a means of tapping into and trusting theirintuition. The Feelings, Thoughts, BehaviourModel is also a useful means of analysis, to gaina deeper understanding of the motivation ofbehaviour and the consequences of specificevents. This emphasis placed on feelings,thoughts and behaviour has strong resonance inrelation to a Restorative Enquiry,as a means ofexploring the consequences of a specific offenceor incident.This can be summed up by one of thekey PBs phrases - 'Feelings are feelings,behaviour a choice, always with an effect. Ourthinking influences both''

Another reason for the effectiveness of PBs isthat it is as valid for the person who has causedthe harm as it is for the person who has beenharmed - the PBs principles are universal.Many crimes, for example those committed bypeople carrying knives, relate to someone notfeeling safe themselves. By raising theirawareness of PBs, the person who caused harmis likely to be more receptive to the goals of anRJ conference. Internalising PBs is also likelyto reduce the risk of re-offending - if you believeTheme One, committing offences which harmothers can never be justified.

is also used as the guiding ethos of manyrestorative approaches, particularly in schools.PBs overlaps in many respects with theprinciples of Restorative Justice and theguidance provided by the PBs Process enablesRJ practice to be even more effective inachieving its goals.

Penny Bassett and Tim Lee are ProtectiveBehaviours trainers who have applied the PBsmessage in various settings, in particular thedevelopment of aprison groupwork programmewww.feelingsafestandingstrong.com

Penny has also developed a peer mentoringprogramme, based on PBs, which she hasdelivered in many primary and secondaryschools - www.pennybassett.com

Illustrations are provided by young peopleinvolved with the Young Victims of CrimeProject.

departments and Thames Valley Police.The pilot demonstrated over a very shorttime scale that there is significantdemand for services to support youngpeople victimised by crime and thatwithin Oxfordshire there is a significantgap in such provision.The feedback fromservice users and referrers wasoverwhelmingly positive. This hasresulted in some interim funding beingreceived with a view to continuing theproject within Victim Support.

For further information about theYoung Victims of Crime Project contactPete Wallis or Shellie Keen on 01865202218

Oxfordshire Young Victims of Crime Project

For Christmas in 1985, Marlon* went tovisit his daughter who was living with hisex-wife, her aunt and her four year oldcousin, Tanya. Marlon went with theintention of giving both girls a Sindy dollas a Christmas present but the visitresulted in the murder of Tanya's motherin front of her eyes. Sharon Goldstonedescribes an exceptional restorativemeeting in which Tanya and Marlon metfor the first time in twenty-four years.

aren Watson,of London Probation hadbeen Tanya's Victim Liaison Officer fora number of years. During that time

Tanya had never thought in positive termsabout the future, only about the irredeemablepast. However, whilst attending a LandmarkTraining and Development Programme shearrived at a transformational position of totalforgiveness. She contacted Karen to see if shecould help her to arrange to express thatforgiveness directly to the offender, Marlon. Iwas asked, in my role as Restorative JusticePractitioner for the Victims Unit of LondonProbation, to lead in the case and try to repairsome of the harm caused.

Tanya still held memories of that day. Sheremembered her uncle, Marlon, arriving at theflat, and that for some reason he had not beenallowed in. Her next memory was of her unclebreaking into the flat and a violentconfrontation, culminating with her motherbeing stabbed as she sought to shield Tanya'saunt, Marlon's ex wife, from attack.Tanya washaunted by a feeling of helplessness and senseof guilt for the past 24 years for not rushingover to help her mum. To complete thenightmare, she watched her mother's bodybeing hurled out of the window. Over the next12 hours Tanya drifted in and out ofconsciousness as her uncle inflicted great painon her while her aunty was forced to watch.Thefollowing day armed police ended the siege andMarlon received two bullet wounds, one bulletstill remaining in his brain to this day.

After serving 17 years in prison, completinglots of courses and a further 3 years beingsupervised in the community, Marlon had ideasabout what to do next, but no real purpose. Helived with the pain he had caused to others forso long, that he didn't think he would ever beable to forgive himself for what he did and hedid not expect anyone else to forgive him either,least of all Tanya. He was sorry, ready to admitit, but even though released from custody, hefound himself still in a prison of deep regret.

06| 07

to deal with emotional and physical woundswhich, in different ways, had devastated theirlives.

On the day of the meeting, Tanya shared withme how she felt a mixture of anxiety andexcitement. Similarly, Marlon said thatalthough he longed for the opportunity to tellhis story and say how sorry he was, the thoughtof seeing his niece 24 years later all grown up,sent feelings of shame and anxiety through hisbody.

Tanya later told me that when she first sawMarlon he seemed so frail and insignificant,very different to the man she remembered.When the meeting started Tanya invited him tocome and sit beside her and he was shaking.

Can Murder ever be Forgiven?A Restorative Justice Case Study

I helped Tanya articulate her feelings andwishes for the future and, once I identified thatTanya had forgiven herself for not coming toher Mum's aid during the crime, we workedtogether to find how this could be expressed tothe offender in ways which would enable him toreceive forgiveness, move forward with his lifeand adopt strategies to prevent re-offending.

I continued to work separately with Tanya andMarlon assisting them to explore the truthabout what happened. They wrote down theirfeelings in letters, along with questions theyhad related to the crime, which I exchangedthrough a process called shuttle mediation.Following this, both Tanya and Marlonexpressed a strong desire to meet each otherface to face. A restorative meeting was set up

K

Marlon presentedTanya with a 1985Sindy doll exactlylike the one he hadintended to give hertwenty-four yearsago.

She extended her hand out to him and told himthat she was not there to make him suffer, butto help him. Monica, one of Marlon's SupportWorkers, also observing the meeting said thatMarlon had been a model tenant. Sincecoming out of prison he had always beenpolite, paid his rent on time and proved himselfto be someone whom they could trust. Shedescribed him as being a genuine individual.

Marlon said that going through the restorativeprocess was the hardest thing he had everchosen to undertake. He came to understandthat our acceptance was based on who he was,not what he had done, and that had given himback his dignity. We spoke about the crime,considered the harm that had been caused andhe was able to take responsibility for hisbehaviour more totally than he had everbefore.

Although Marlon had participated in a victimempathy course in prison and met someoneelse's victim, meeting his own victim hadproved much more difficult; but Tanya's letterhad made him feel worthy of a chance torepair what had been ruined, so he slowlybegan to open up and truthfully tell his side ofwhat had happened. As Marlon looked inTanya's eyes and began to speak with so muchshame, she squeezed his hand tight and toldhim that being able to forgive was a God givenblessing which she wanted him to know; thatshe didn't want him to blame himself anymore.

"Working with the victim througha process of recrimination, toforgiveness and then beyond thisto reconciliation has been anoverwhelming experience."

Tanya described the special relationship shehad enjoyed growing up with Marlon'sdaughter. Tanya's cousin had various trinketboxes which her Marlon had made her out ofmatches and she asked him if he still madethose things. Marlon paused for a while andsmiled for the first time and then produced twoparcels for Tanya and asked her to accept themas tokens of his gratitude for herunderstanding. The first parcel contained agenuine 1985-6 pedigree edition Sindy Dollwhich Marlon explained represented theChristmas present he had not had theopportunity to give her. The second parcelcontained a wooden trinket box which Marlonhad carved himself. At this point the giver andreceiver became filled with emotion. Tanyakissed Marlon and hugged him tight, as allpast feelings of resentment and bondage werecleared away, leaving them both free to beginafresh.This process had changed the way theyperceived themselves and given them newidentities.

During a time of open dialogue Tanya andMarlon told each other a little about what was

important in their lives. For Tanya, thisincluded working with others sharing herexperiences, raising money for Charity andwriting a book entitled 'Letters to my Mother'.Marlon shared that he also used hisexperiences to help youngsters while in prisonand others in the community and that he alsocontinued to enjoy making and carvingwooden items which he was keen to developinto a business. Tanya offered her marketingexperience to help Marlon to market hisproducts.

I then focused the meeting further towards thefuture and Tanya expressed a wish to build acloser relationship with her uncle.She told himthat there was nothing he had to make up forand that he was a perfect and generous manand that she hoped others would also see whatwas in his heart.Tanya encouraged Marlon tore-contact his daughter, saying that because ofconflicting loyalties they had not enjoyed agood relationship since the crime. Tanya toldMarlon that his daughter loved him and thatshe wanted to try and repair the rift betweenthem also, and hoped her actions today wouldbe an example to the rest of the family of whatcan be achieved. Marlon also invited Tanya tomeet some family members on the other sidewhich she was excited about.

As the meeting ended Marlon said that thegifts of acceptance and forgiveness that hadbeen given to him today were priceless and hadgiven him new meaning and purpose in his life.With Tanya's help, he wanted to make a betterfuture for himself and family.

I thanked everyone for participating and Tanyaand Marlon for the privilege of travellingalongside them on their journey. Fourteenyears experience in conflict resolution has

shown me that crime has a devastating impacton victims, offenders, their families and thewider community. Victims want to feelunderstood; they want offenders to own up towhat they have done and acknowledge thesuffering they have caused. Many victims alsowant some good to come of their tragedy andthat means they want the offender to gothrough an experience that leads them to giveup crime. It had been humbling to take part ina restorative process that has begun to repairthe harm caused by the crime and has made asignificant contribution to victimempowerment, offender accountability,restoration of relationship and brought newmeaning and purpose into the lives of all whohad been involved in the process.

Restorative practices are increasingly beingrecognised as the most positive intervention toassist victim and offenders to move forwardwith their lives reducing the harm of the crimeand they are the most likely strategies toreduce reoffending.They allow both victim andoffender to settle with the past, engage withthe present and to believe in the future and Iintend to be working tirelessly to see this workcontinue to develop.

Sharon Goldstone is Restorative JusticePractitioner for London Probation Service'sVictims Unit.

To comment on this article or for furtherdetails about restorative mediation e-mailSharon.Goldstone@london.probation.gsi.gov.uk

*Marlon & Tanya's names have been changedfor confidentiality.

Princess Anne speaks to Sharon about her restorative work with London Probation Service

PC Sandie Hastings has been implementingRestorative Justice since piloting its use withyoung people who had received police finalwarnings for Leicestershire Youth OffendingService (LYOS) in 2000. During her timewith LYOS Sandie facilitated over twohundred face to face RJ conferences andbecame the largest sole contributor toMediation UK's publication "40 cases: RJand Victim-Offender-Mediation" (nowavailable online). Her research project 'AnExamination of Restorative Justice in theNeighbourhood Policing Context' earned hera Fulbright Police Fellow Scholarship in2006. Her research provided a host ofexciting learning opportunities includingtime working with police and community RJprojects in Rochester, New York (see alsoResolution 31).

Below Sandie describes the latest chapter inher RJ story beginning with an opportunityto pilot restorative justice in neighbourhoodpolicing on two estates in Leicestershire.The selection of Leicestershire as a pilotarea for the Flanagan Reportrecommendations on community policinghas provided a chance to put her learning touse on a much larger scale.

nitially, the plan was to introducerestorative practice into mainstreampolicing as a pilot project with two

neighbourhood beat teams each based on anestate in the Leicester City area. The pilotwas to run from 1st April 2008 for threemonths and if it proved successful then itwould be rolled out across the organisation.A policy document setting out guidance forits use (i.e. which offences and offenderswere deemed suitable or otherwise), andprocedural guidance around its applicationwas produced.

Restorative Solutions was commissioned toprovide training for one session on the basisthat I would co-train the 'RestorativeApproaches in Neighbourhoods' (RAiN)session with one of their trainers, and fromthen onwards, given my experience of thesubject, I would train other colleagues usingthe packs provided.

The training was adapted to meet our localneeds. Emphasis was placed on providinggreater discretion to officers to provide arange of restorative processes in addition toa face to face RJ conference. This flexibilityof approach avoided a 'one size fits all'solution in favour of taking into account theneeds of individual victims.

Every neighbourhood beat officer and PoliceCommunity Support Officer (PCSO) andsome key partner agency representativesbased within the pilot area were trained in afull day to the 'street' or 'instant' RJ levelone standard.

However, towards the end of March 2008and before the April 1st pilot start date,significant events came about that wouldrather spectacularly supersede the scale ofthis planned localised scheme.

In a recently published report outlining amajor review of policing produced by SirRonnie Flanagan, LeicestershireConstabulary had been identified as one offour Police Forces in the UK, together withSurrey, Staffordshire and West Midlands, topilot its recommendations. Before writing hisreport, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, carried outextensive national research which found;

'The current Police approach to dealing with[local crime] is clumsy, officers areencouraged to criminalise people forbehaviour which may have caused offencebut would be better dealt with in a differentway. Complainants are dissatisfied becausethey want help rather than a criminal justiceoutcome.'

Some of the recommendations of the reporthighlighted the need when dealing with localcrime for;

A) Appropriate reduction in bureaucracy,B) Proportionality in the crime recordingprocess.C) Allowing officers to use more discretion,experience, and professional judgement , and,D) placing more emphasis on 'communityresolution' (based on RJ principles) toprovide a more citizen focussed service.

“surveys across allfour pilot sitesindicated significantincreases in bothcustomer and staffsatisfaction.”The governance structure for the pilot of thereports findings consisted of a programmesteering group with representation from theHome Office, the National PolicingImprovement Agency (NPIA), HMIC, andthe Association of Chief Police Officers(ACPO) as well as individual force projectteams.The programme explored a departurefrom the sanction detection performanceculture in response to a change in the wishesand needs of the public, enabling them to

An Eventful Journey: Restorative Justice and Leicestershire Police

08| 09

I

Above: Three young people cleaning their graffiti from a Charity building followingagreement with the victim (Multiple Sclerosis Charity Centre manager pictured centre).There has been no further incidents of grafitti - in fact the young people concerned took to‘policing’ the wall to protect their hard work!

contribute towards the outcome of crimesand incidents through local communityresolutions. All four forces developed avariety of work streams, including surveys,evaluation of training and monitoring ofoutputs over the course of the intervention,based on a framework of agreed principles.

This was an exciting development, andalthough the initial Leicester City based pilotdid go ahead and was a success in its ownright, it would be fair to say that thesuccessful implementation of a review of thisscale would fundamentally change the waywe police our communities in the UK for thebetter.

Leicestershire's pilot manager, ChiefInspector Richard Keenan, invited me towork with him to roll out the initial trainingto all front line staff across the entire Force.Deadlines were tight; approximately twelvehundred staff members received the input insixty two sessions in a matter of thirty days.In order to achieve this target, the sessionswere reduced to three hours. This allowedsufficient time for us to deliver an overviewof the Flanagan report (a basic insight intorestorative practices using live examples),and an understanding of the simplifiedprocess and procedures now in place. Therewere mixed reactions from front line staffduring the training sessions, but what wasseen as 'common sense policing' wasgenerally welcomed.

The pilot went live across the entire force inLeicestershire on 1st July 2008. Early signsfrom surveys across all four pilot sitesindicated significant increases in bothcustomer and staff satisfaction.Victims wereasked about their experiences and weregenerally found to be supportive of theprocess of community resolution and thoughtit was appropriate to their incident, theoffence and the offender.They liked the ideaof not criminalising the offender andresolving issues outside of the traditionallegal system.

Staff welcomed the opportunity to havegreater flexibility, particularly highlightedaround the requirement to arrest for minoroffences due to the need to meetperformance targets, when the victim did notwant formal Police action. Feedback fromoperational officers indicated that as a resultof this initiative, the proportionate recordingof crime and the manner in which it isresolved, has freed up time to allow them tofocus on what matters.

For the purpose of the pilot, 'local crime' wasidentified as minor theft, damage andassaults, anti social behaviour andharassment. Examples of creative, effectiveand innovative use of community resolutionby front line staff soon began to emerge andwere used to promote best practice tocolleagues via the force website, and in thepress for information and reassurancepurposes to local communities.

have a particular aptitude and interest inrestorative work. These officers are nowrecognised as 'force champions' in this fieldand have agreed to support colleagues withRJ and promote its use where appropriate.Partner agencies are also a vital resourceand will be included where possible in thenext phase of coaching due to be rolled outto the neighbourhood beat teams wheremore emphasis will be placed on thedevelopment of RJ conferencing skills.

The development of Restorative Justice inLeicestershire Constabulary has made anexciting start. The passion of the peopleinvolved combined with the opportunityprovided by the Flanagan Report is apowerful vehicle that has the potential totake restorative justice to the place where itbelongs; in the heart of our communities.

Sandie Hastings.Police ConstableLeicestershire Constabulary,UK.

An extended article charting Sandie's RJjourney since first training course withThames Valley Police in 1999 and detailingthe meteoric development of RJ in Leicester,Leicestershire and Rutland will be madeavailable at www.restorativejustice.org.uk

Below: A young man found smokingcannabis on church premises agrees to picklitter from the churchyard.

Justice and Leicestershire Police

Outcomes(July 2008 - March 2009)

· 2,666 offences resolvedusing the communityresolution process based onRJ principles.

· Over 2,000 offenders weredirectly involved in theprocess.

· 45% of offenders werejuveniles.

·Re-offending rate forjuveniles involved in theprocess is 18%.

·Victim satisfaction rates haverisen from 60% (pre-pilot) to90%.

· Over 18,500 hrs Police timesaved and re-invested in localpolicing.

The selection of results above is by no meanscomprehensive, merely an encouragingindicator of the effectiveness of the processwithin a very short time span, carried out byofficers with minimal basic awarenesstraining. A full evaluation of the four forcepilots is currently being undertaken by theNPIA and the results will be published in duecourse.

There is of course much more to be done toembed a more thorough understanding of RJprinciples into the organisation. I haverecently delivered bespoke coaching sessionsto thirty one personally selected officers,each of whom have shown themselves to

hat started as Restorative Justicecould lead to a wider concept ofcivil society, and even help to make

it a reality. That was the message of aseminar of the European Forum forRestorative Justice, in Leuven, Belgium, inJune 2009, on 'Building social support forRestorative Justice: working with media,civil society and citizens'.

Ivo Aertsen described civil society asuncoerced, voluntary collective actionaround shared interests, purposes andvalues. It forms a 'Third Sector', alongsidethe state and business and includes 'civilsociety organizations' such as professionalassociations, trades unions, self-helpgroups and voluntary organizations. Thelatter may be state subsidized. There isalso scope for restorative practice inschools and sport. All this adds up to'social capital', which is a capacity tomobilize resources to solve socialproblems. There is a need for a co-ordinated and strategic approach - but itshould leave room for surprises!

Norway has progressed down this road,with community mediation that has beenrunning for nearly twenty years. SiriKemény, of the Norwegian MediationCouncil, pointed out that the Norwegianlaw says that mediation must be done bylay citizens, in contrast to Austria, where'out-of-court offence resolution' is allprofessionalized. The aim is to strengthencommunities' ability to resolve minoroffences, without weakening the legalprofession. Civil cases are also dealt with,

home placement is less likely after anFGC.

Learning circles promote the individualschool careers of pupils; a question from apupil is discussed with people involved inhis/her life.

Restorative Justice conferences deal withconflicts between parties or in schools etc.Victims, perpetrators and their respectivefamilies and social networks are broughttogether.o A restorative meeting is attended by anaverage of 8 persons.o 92% of the meetings concluded with arestorative plan.o 95% of the participants could partiallyor fully contribute to a solution.o After three months, 77% of the plansare fully executed and 20% partially.

'All-hands' community conferences areused for difficult situations inneighbourhoods or organizations, forexample, when there is tension in aneighbourhood or at a school, the peopleinvolved get a chance, by means of aconference, to make their own plan as ananswer to the question or a solution to theproblem. Issues may include child care,health, schools, correction centres,domestic violence, community policies -wherever a decision is needed.

It is the official policy of the Dutchgovernment to encourage local authoritiesto promote Eigen Kracht.The participantsand the facilitators together are workingtowards a civil society with maximumautonomy of citizens.

Martin Wright

For more information much of it inEnglish) on Eigen Kracht visitwww.eigen-kracht.nl or email info@eigen-kracht.nl

For materials and information on theBuilding Social Support for RestorativeJustice:Working with Media, Civil Societyand Citizens conference please visitwww.euforumrj.org/Activities/seminars.htm

Dr Martin Wright is a senior researchfellow, at De Montfort University,Leicester and trustee of the RestorativeJustice Consortium.

Social Capital in a Civil SocietyPower in our hands

W

but form only 15 per cent of the total.

The welfare state has paternalisticelements, Kemény said, with the statetaking over from municipalities and peoplelosing the know-how for everyday living.Mediation services haven't yet re-vitalizedcommunities but have potential. Solidaritymust be re-learnt. A conferencing modelhas taken off, and helps to create socialsupport; police and prosecutors like it,although mediation services have onlyrecently acquired the skills. There is aneed for sound police-mediationcooperation; if police work restoratively,they can help the community to cope withconflicts, and they do not have to recordevery small offence. Siri ended by warningagainst the professionalization ofmediation; the Dutch programme EigenKracht shows that it is not necessary.

'Eigen Kracht' literally means 'OwnPower'. Hedda van Lieshout, in herworkshop, called it 'Teamwork withcitizens in restorative practices'. A loosetranslation might be 'Power in our ownhands'. Hedda suggested that well-intentioned organisations may take overtoo much, whereas Eigen Kracht givespeople the opportunity to resolve thingsthemselves. Rather than one-to-onemediation, they aim to widen the circle ofpeople who contribute both to finding asolution and to supporting it. They usetrained independent facilitators - peoplewho mostly have other full-time jobs; theyare not volunteers, but paid (35 euros perhour). In the Netherlands (population 16million) there are 400 of them, speaking atotal of 66 languages. Most conferencestake about 15 hours to organize, butFamily Group Conferences take about 30hours. The national office has 7 staff, andthere are 16 regional co-ordinators. Morethan 2000 conferences have been held inthe Netherlands.They use slightly differentmodels for different situations.

Family group conferences (FGCs) are forproblems within a family. The averagenumber of people at an FGC is 14. Aquarter of the families make a plan thatthey can fulfil on their own, three quartersask for help or support from professionals- which in some cases they had rejectedwhen it was forced on them. Theparticipants have 'private time' as part ofthe process. In child-care cases, an out-of-

decreased by 98% and the school's Ofstedranking moved from the lowest ranking"needing special measures" to "outstanding".The secondary school pilot results includereductions in physical abuse, racism,exclusions and 62.5% decrease in staffabsences.

Following the pilot results restorativepractices have been expanded to seven moreschools with positive results. In other areas,results so far are equally promising.Involving families, as well as school staff, incircles with those children experiencing thegreatest difficulties has proved beneficial toeveryone. The police are using restorativepractices for first-time minor offences andneighbourhood conflicts. In children's homes,restorative practices have resulted in greatlyreduced criminal records and policeinvolvement. Circles have even helped staffmore effectively manage their own issues.

Conclusion

The results from both North America andthe UK are overwhelmingly positive andshow that restorative practices cantransform schools by engaging students intaking responsibility for making their ownschools better. The data presented highlightsthe remarkable potential of restorativepractices to achieve safer, saner schools andcommunities.

This article is a summary by Christine Groothues.The full report ‘Improving School Climate’ bySharon Lewis, Director of Research IIRPGraduate School is available atwww.iirp.org/pdf/IIRP-Improving-School-Climate. Thereport was originally shared with members of theRestorative Practices eForum. You may join forfree at www.iirp.org/join_eforum

nspired by the failure ofauthoritarian responses to fallingacademic standards and increasing

violence in schools the InternationalInstitute for Restorative Practicesdeveloped an alternative approach. The coreprinciple of this new approach is "to strike atthe heart of the culture" of the school, byusing restorative practices to foster dialogueamong students and between pupils andstaff. The IIRP is committed to providingongoing data about how restorativepractices are being implemented. Here datafrom a range of programmes are reportedfrom schools and school districts in the US,Canada, and the UK to provide a snapshot offindings related to restorative practices.

North America

Programmes were tailored to the particularneeds of each school but all share basicrestorative principles, seeking to improvebehaviour through building relationships,rather than through punishment and fear.Teachers and other educators have beentrained to employ the continuum ofrestorative practices, using restorativequestions for sharing and eliciting emotionsand employing conferencing, circles,interventions and one-to-ones, asappropriate throughout the school day. Forexample, in some schools, circles are used atthe beginning and end of each class, forstudents to set goals and expectationstogether. The implementation of restorativepractices in six US schools range acrossurban, suburban and rural settings. Resultsinclude one of the most dangerous schools inPhiladelphia where violent acts reduced by52% and 40% in consecutive years. At aschool in a relatively affluent area ofPennsylvania where problems wererestricted to a small number of repeatoffenders, suspensions dropped from 30 ayear to just 5. In Canada restorativepractices were implemented as a systemicapproach covering all the elementary andsecondary schools in the two school boardareas involved.

In all the schools, reported results wereoverwhelmingly positive and changes beganto appear very quickly followingimplementation of a programme.

The results show:

· Large decreases in suspensions fromschool, as problems are faced and solvedwith pupils: Decrease in recidivism amongthe most difficult pupils· Great improvement in student behaviourgenerally, less disrespect and fighting as

pupils learn to respect others and takeresponsibility for their own actions ·Development of "team feeling" betweenpupils, between staff members, and betweenstaff and pupils·Positive effect on academic performance, aspupils begin to feel safe and part of a schoolcommunity

UK

The first of two UK reports is from aresidential school for boys with emotionaland behavioural difficulties. Echoing thereports from North America, a school withan "us and them" ethos and high levels ofvandalism and antisocial behaviour, has beenturned around by the introduction ofrestorative practices. Circles are nowembedded in the school culture for all staffand pupils, and a sense of community hasbeen developed. One welcome outcome is thesubstantial reduction in repair costs fordamaged property; previously in one weekover £1000 was spent on broken windowsbut now this sort of vandalism has virtuallydisappeared.

The second, and perhaps most remarkable,example is from Hull which is endeavouringto become a "restorative city" whereeveryone working with children will employrestorative practices. Schools, families, thepolice and the Children and Young People'sServices are all involved and committed tobuilding social connection and responsibility,and providing a means to repair harm whenrelationships break down.

Pilots were conducted at a primary and asecondary school with results reported aftertwo years. At the primary school exclusions

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Improving School Climate:Findings from Schools implementing Restorative Practices

Ronnie Andren

I

'Families, Friends andCommunities: strengtheningprisoners' and ex-offenders'

positive relationships'Prisoner Action NetDate:5 November 2009

Venue:Inmarsat,99 City Road,London

PrisonerActionNet are organising aconference that aims to highlight therange of work that's possible andeffective with offenders to improve theirrelationships with others. Forpractitioners, the conference aims tohelp review and develop projects andinitiatives that strengthen offenders'relationships, and to help themunderstand how this work can beevidenced and commissioned.

Key themes include family and lastingrelationships, peer mentoring,Restorative justice and victim empathy -helping offenders to apologise and makeamends.

For more information including how tobook call 020 8348 8263 or visitwww.lemosandcrane.co.uk

Join the RJCIf you believe in Restorative Justice, join the Restorative Justice Consortium and help support our work.

Members benefit from free copies of Resolution, monthly emails about the latest Restorative Justice newsand events, free entry to our regular Forums and further discounts on all our events as well as theopportunity to place articles and advertise on the RJC website.

We rely on our membership to help us promote the use of Restorative Justice and your support will help usdo even more.

Join us now by downloading an application form from www.restorativejustice.org.uk/?Membershipor call the RJC on 020 7653 1992 for more information.

Transition to AdulthoodInteractive Consultation

EventsClinks, T2A and Barrow Cadbury

26th August 2009 ı Bristol10th September 2009 ı Manchester

23rd September 2009 ı London

Transition to Adulthood (T2A) is anAlliance, led by the Barrow Cadbury Trust,campaigning for young adults (18-24year-olds) in the Criminal Justice System.

T2A, in partnership with the NationalCouncil for Voluntary Youth Services(NCVYS), is hosting three interactiveconsultation events on A New Start - thegreen paper from T2A - which lists 21recommendations for change. We needyour views as practitioners working withyoung adults on the ground.

These events are free of charge,but placesare limited to 60 delegates at each venue.

To make a booking, or for moreinformation, contact Karen Desai atClinks: karen.desai@clinks.org or call01904 673 970.

This events listing isnot exhaustiveFor a full list of eventson Restorative Justiceand related fieldsplease visit the RJCwebsitewww.restorativejustice.org.uk

IIRP World Conference ‘Restoring Community ina Disconnected World’

International Institute forRestorative Practices

Date:Wednesday 21st - 23rd OctoberVenue:Bethlehem,Pennsylvania,USA

This conference will provide aninternational perspective on restorativepractices theory and practice in a varietyof settings including education, socialwelfare, criminal justice, communitydevelopment and workplaces. Restorativepractitioners from around the world willshare their knowledge and achievementsand find encouragement, support andadvice.

Full details and booking information areavailable at www.iirp.org/beth

International Institutefor Restorative

Practices UK Office(IIRP UK)

Autumn 09 Regional Workshops3-Day Restorative Conferencing

Facilitator Skills TrainingDate:6th - 8th OctoberVenue:Oxford,England

1 Day Introduction to RestorativePractices Workshop

Dates:5,10th,11th,26th NovemberVenues:Manchester,Exeter,London &

Cardiff

Full information & pricing available atwww.iirp.org/uk

RJCAdvertising

The Restorative Justice Consortiumoffers free advertising to ourmembership.

In addition to listings on our popularwebsite www.restorativejustice.org.ukand our monthly e-bulletin, yourorganisation may receive a prominentlisting in Resolution at no extra charge.

Further sponsorship and marketingopportunities are available to membersand non-members at competitiveprices.

For details emailinfo@restorativejustice.org.uk

For up-to-date information on RJ events go to:www.restorativejustice.org.uk/?Events

12Events