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| More offenders to meet their victims under plan to expand restorative justice | More offenders to meet their victims under plan to expand restorative justice |
| (5 months later) | |
| More offenders will have to meet their victims and apologise before being sentenced under a rapid expansion of restorative justice unveiledon Tuesday. | More offenders will have to meet their victims and apologise before being sentenced under a rapid expansion of restorative justice unveiledon Tuesday. |
| The legislative proposals for a national rollout of the scheme will embed the process in courts across England and Wales in an attempt to cut high reoffending rates. | The legislative proposals for a national rollout of the scheme will embed the process in courts across England and Wales in an attempt to cut high reoffending rates. |
| Details of how restorative justice encounters will operate will be set out in a new clause of the crime and courts bill being debated in the House of Lords. | Details of how restorative justice encounters will operate will be set out in a new clause of the crime and courts bill being debated in the House of Lords. |
| At present, the practice of making perpetrators confront those they have harmed is used in relatively few areas. Its formal inclusion in the bill is being presented as a victory for Liberal Democrats. | At present, the practice of making perpetrators confront those they have harmed is used in relatively few areas. Its formal inclusion in the bill is being presented as a victory for Liberal Democrats. |
| The justice minister, Lord McNally, told the Guardian: "It's been a key policy of the Liberal Democrats for a number of years. We pressed very hard to get a slot for restorative justice [in the bill]. | The justice minister, Lord McNally, told the Guardian: "It's been a key policy of the Liberal Democrats for a number of years. We pressed very hard to get a slot for restorative justice [in the bill]. |
| "We will now put restorative justice on a statutory footing which gives it greater credibility and shows that it is not just a sideshow. It ticks boxes both for those who want to see a more central role for the victim and those who see it as a real factor in rehabilitation." | "We will now put restorative justice on a statutory footing which gives it greater credibility and shows that it is not just a sideshow. It ticks boxes both for those who want to see a more central role for the victim and those who see it as a real factor in rehabilitation." |
| The process has broad support among those working in the criminal justice system. Among backers in the upper house are Lord Blair, the former Metropolitan police commissioner, Lord Woolf, the former lord chief justice, and Lord Ramsbotham, the former prisons inspector. | The process has broad support among those working in the criminal justice system. Among backers in the upper house are Lord Blair, the former Metropolitan police commissioner, Lord Woolf, the former lord chief justice, and Lord Ramsbotham, the former prisons inspector. |
| The recently appointed Conservative justice secretary, Chris Grayling, is also said to back the initiative. "He is fully in support of the measure," McNally said. "He sees it as part of his victim support strategy. He has always made it clear he is fully paid up to the 'rehabilitation revolution'. No matter how much you think that prison works, it's a very expensive system. | The recently appointed Conservative justice secretary, Chris Grayling, is also said to back the initiative. "He is fully in support of the measure," McNally said. "He sees it as part of his victim support strategy. He has always made it clear he is fully paid up to the 'rehabilitation revolution'. No matter how much you think that prison works, it's a very expensive system. |
| "I've talked to both victims and perpetrators. Offenders have said [meeting their victims] was one of the worst and most difficult things they have had to do. They have said it was a moment of truth when they come face to face with [what they had done]." | "I've talked to both victims and perpetrators. Offenders have said [meeting their victims] was one of the worst and most difficult things they have had to do. They have said it was a moment of truth when they come face to face with [what they had done]." |
| Past surveys have found that victims report an 85% satisfaction rate, according to the Ministry of Justice. A drop of around 14% in reoffending rates was recorded among perpetrators. | Past surveys have found that victims report an 85% satisfaction rate, according to the Ministry of Justice. A drop of around 14% in reoffending rates was recorded among perpetrators. |
| Critics of restorative justice question its effectiveness and suggest offenders may feign contrition to try and obtain a lesser sentence. Last year a letter written to a victim by a teenage burglar, which mocked the victims for leaving their downstairs windows open, found its way into the media. The burglar said he had been "forced" to write it after being sentenced. | Critics of restorative justice question its effectiveness and suggest offenders may feign contrition to try and obtain a lesser sentence. Last year a letter written to a victim by a teenage burglar, which mocked the victims for leaving their downstairs windows open, found its way into the media. The burglar said he had been "forced" to write it after being sentenced. |
| "There's a lot more thought goes into it," McNally said. "It's a proper practice where both the victim and offender have to agree to the process. It will hopefully influence future behaviour but will not affect the sentences that will be passed for the offence. It's not a trade-off with other sentences. | "There's a lot more thought goes into it," McNally said. "It's a proper practice where both the victim and offender have to agree to the process. It will hopefully influence future behaviour but will not affect the sentences that will be passed for the offence. It's not a trade-off with other sentences. |
| "It's about getting closure [for victims]. The crime itself is a trauma. Victims say they feel outsiders in the normal process of dealing with the crime. Talking to victims you find they say: 'when I met him he seemed such a pathetic figure', or 'he didn't frighten me any more', or 'I could see how he was being handled and I was satisfied'." | "It's about getting closure [for victims]. The crime itself is a trauma. Victims say they feel outsiders in the normal process of dealing with the crime. Talking to victims you find they say: 'when I met him he seemed such a pathetic figure', or 'he didn't frighten me any more', or 'I could see how he was being handled and I was satisfied'." |
| An extra £20m is being provided to improve training of police, probation officers, youth offending teams and prison officers who will organise meetings between offenders and victims. It will also be used in some out-of-court disposals and be integrated into the work of the neighbourhood justice panels that have been established. | An extra £20m is being provided to improve training of police, probation officers, youth offending teams and prison officers who will organise meetings between offenders and victims. It will also be used in some out-of-court disposals and be integrated into the work of the neighbourhood justice panels that have been established. |
| Those involved in relatively low-level crime – such as mugging, petty burglaries, local disturbances, spraying graffiti or wrecking memorial gardens – are likely to find themselves having to take part in restorative justice schemes before they are sentenced. Magistrates and judges will then have information about offenders' behaviour when they come to pass sentence. | Those involved in relatively low-level crime – such as mugging, petty burglaries, local disturbances, spraying graffiti or wrecking memorial gardens – are likely to find themselves having to take part in restorative justice schemes before they are sentenced. Magistrates and judges will then have information about offenders' behaviour when they come to pass sentence. |
| "It's not woolly liberalism if you can cut reoffending rates, said McNally. He added: "We are not presenting it as an alternative to prison – but prison is very expensive. So we are looking for more cost effective measures to change behaviour and save future victims. | "It's not woolly liberalism if you can cut reoffending rates, said McNally. He added: "We are not presenting it as an alternative to prison – but prison is very expensive. So we are looking for more cost effective measures to change behaviour and save future victims. |
| "If we can, by a variety of measures, get reoffending rates down from 50% … If we could really cut into reoffending rates we would be making a huge saving for the taxpayer." | "If we can, by a variety of measures, get reoffending rates down from 50% … If we could really cut into reoffending rates we would be making a huge saving for the taxpayer." |
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