The Northern Irish Model of Restorative Justice Tim Chapman University of Ulster

The Northern Irish Model of Restorative

JusticeTim Chapman

University of Ulster

Northern Ireland and Restorative Justice

Community system

Community restorative justice Ireland

Alternatives NI

School system

Children’s Services

Family Group Conferences

Children’s Units

State system

Low risk – Police restorative cautioning

Medium risk – Public Prosecution Service referral for diversionary conference by Youth Conference Service

High risk – Youth Court referrals to Youth Conference Service

Priority young offenders programme

Prison Service – rehabilitation and resettlement

Youth Conferences Statutory since 2003

Mainstream

Prosecution referred

Youth court referred

No cherry picking

Referrals and ratification by PPS or Youth Court

The Balanced Model

Harm

Community

Person responsible for harm Injured party

Community safety and reintegration

Reducing risk and working towards a better life

Accountability, protection and repairing the harm

Core Values

Responsibility

Relationship

Respect

Move away fromOut of fear

Be neglectfulIndifferentPassive

Avoidance

Do forOut of sympathyBe permissive

ProtectiveInterventionist

Rescuing

Do with

RespectBe restorative

InclusiveParticipative

Transformative

Do toOut of angerBe punitiveStigmatising

CoercivePunitive

Models of addressing challenging behaviour and its aftermath

High

Responsibility

Low Relationship High Adapted form McCold and Wachtel’s Social Discipline Window

The Youth Conference Process

Pre-Conference Conference Post Conference

The Dialogue Approach

Storytelling

Expression of emotion Dialogue on needs and action

Measuring Effectiveness

Over 9,000 Referrals

Year Court PPS Total

2006/07 793 503 1,296

2007/08 1,129 802 1,931

2008/09 792 844 1,636

2009/10 891 949 1,840

2010/11 YTD*

753 777 1,530

Total 4,358 3,875 8,233*February 2011

*2010/11 Apr - Dec

Increasing proportion of disposals, reducing custody,

reducing reoffending2006 2005

Baseline Disposal No. Re-Offending

Total % No. Re-Offending

Total %

Immediate Custody 29 41 70.7 43 59 72.9

Combination Order 6 9 - 7 16 -

Community Service Order 15 30 - 18 54 33.3

Probation Order 51 87 58.6 63 127 49.6

Attendance Centre Order 45 97 46.4 53 104 51.0

Community Responsibility Order 21 42 50.0 12 22 -

Community based disposals 138 265 52.1 153 323 47.4

Court Ordered Youth Conference

102 215 47.4 43 97 44.3

Div. Youth Conference Plan 63 223 28.3 23 75 30.7

All non-custodial disposals 452 1,110 40.7 409 1,091 37.5

ALL DISPOSALS 481 1,151 41.8 452 1,150 39.3

Outcomes for Youth Conferences

Number of youth conferences 9,000 +

Over 50,000 people have participated in a youth conference

Victim attendance; around 70%

Victim and young person satisfaction ; 90% and 95%

8 out of 10 victims prefer the youth conference to the traditional court process

100% victims would recommend conferences to others

94% successful completion of plans

England and Wales put three times as many young people into custody as Northern Ireland

Success Factors

Consistent practiceRobust research based practice model

Practice manual

Performance targets

Supervision

Commitment to professional development

Accredited training

Supporting the increasing demands of practice

CoursesThree modules

Undergraduate certificate

Postgraduate Certificate

Six modules

Postgraduate certificate

Postgraduate diploma

Nine modules or dissertation

Masters

StudentsOpen Course 23 students

Youth Conference Service 48 students

Police Service 80 + students

Community Restorative Justice 38 students

Prison Service 38 Students

Youth Justice Agency 66 Students

Priority Young Offenders Programme 30 Students

Family Group Conferences 40 Students

University Modules Foundation skills

Reflecting on Restorative Practice

Responding restoratively to people who have been harmed

Responding restoratively to people responsible for harm

Enhancing restorative skills

Family group conference practice and processes

Building a restorative society

Restorative responses to sexual harm

Restorative responses to serious and persistent harmful behaviour

The restorative prison

The restorative school

The restorative community

The restorative organisation

The restorative children’s home

Restorative practices and faith organisations

Effective PracticeExternal evaluation

Performance targets

Continuous improvement

Building Blocks

Consistent Practice

Competent Practice

Effective Practice

Innovative Practice

Challenges Ahead

YCS Referrals By Young PersonNo. of Referrals No. young

people% of young

peopleCumulative % of

young people

1 2,831 63.1 63.1

2 748 16.7 79.8

3 315 7.0 86.8

4 212 4.7 91.5

5 107 2.4 93.9

6 80 1.8 95.7

7 51 1.1 96.9

8 38 0.8 97.7

9 32 0.7 98.4

10 20 0.4 98.9

11-30 51 1.1 100.0

Total Referrals 8,995 - -

No. young people 4,485 - -

Priority Youth Offenders Project

Intensive relationship

Circle of Support and Accountability

Other challengesUpdating practice > revise practice manual

Rebalancing the state and community programmes

Prison reform

Thank youContact

tj.chapman@ulster.ac.uk