Www.mediationsupport.info Restorative Justice -overview, examples and matters of contention (Presented by Paul Crosland) “An enemy is one whose story we

www.mediationsupport.info

Restorative Justice-overview, examples and matters of contention

(Presented by Paul Crosland)

“An enemy is one whose story we have not heard”

-Gene Knudsen-Hoffman


The conflicts which have been criminalised

..to whom is this conflict valuable?

Nils Christie, 1977 -”Conflicts as Property”


3 paradigms

“evil people” paradigm

“wrong behaviour” paradigm

“all actions are meaningful” -action planning paradigm

Focus of RJ:

RJ as offender

education/therapy and victim healing

Limited scope eg forced restitution

Understanding the meaning

behind behaviours and generating the resourcefulness for all in making future

choices


6 Principles of RJ(through “wrong behaviour” & “meaningful behaviour”“meaningful behaviour” lenses)

➲ 1)➲ Victim support and healing is a priority➲ Generating understanding and

resourcefulness is prioritised



➲ 2)➲ Offenders take responsibility for what they

have done➲ Taking responsibility for one's actions and

needs is key



➲ 3)➲ There is dialogue to achieve understanding➲ There is dialogue to achieve understanding

(not necessarily with the actual other i.e. substitution to enable comprehension and action planning)



➲ 4)➲ There is an attempt to put right the harm

done➲ Actions are taken to embody healing and

generate resourcefulness



➲ 5)➲ Offenders look at how to avoid future

offending➲ Emphasis on how all can make choices

which are better able to meet all identified needs



➲ 6)➲ The community helps to reintegrate both

victim and offender➲ Communities provide the context in which

choices are made and their engagement is key


The dangers of a focus on: ➲ Restorative rehabilitation➲ Victim appeasement


Retributive Culture/ Restorative Culture

➲ Identify who was wrong

➲ Forcibly re-educate

➲ Maintain control

➲ Identify unmet needs

➲ Restore harmony between those involved

➲ Re-establish balance

➲ Focus of evaluation->>>>>>>

➲ Focus of response->>>>>>>

➲ Social consequences->>>

(Dominic Barter, 2007 training)


➲ Stages of criminal justice at which restorative justice occurs:

● Not prosecuted/Diversion● Reprimand/ Final Warning● Preparation of Pre-Sentence Report● Serving a community sentence● Serving a custodial sentence● Post custody (on licence)● Post sentence at request of victim or offender.


Who gate-keeps which acts warrant RJ?

Author needs

Recipient needs

Community Needs

Domestic Violence cases?


Styles of facilitation

➲ The one-party led process➲ The 'impartial' process➲ The 'multipartial' process


Key aspects of restorative processes

➲ Mutual comprehension➲ Self Responsibility➲ Action Planning


Areas of contention when collectively reviewing RJ principles

➲ 'Impartiality'➲ Voluntariness➲ Confidentiality


RJ and the capacity to 'live your dreams'-George's story


The F word in RJ

➲ Forgiveness (unhealthy without empathy)➲ Apology (meaningless without empathy)

Recommended website:ApologyPlus.org.uk

-more than sorry




Case examples

➲ (Suspected) “Paedophile” beaten up by gang of youth on estate

➲ Hostage taking in relation to drug-dealing debts.


How RJ works -account from victim (secondary)

of Fred (& Rosemary) West

➲ “If both people can talk about their lives, then the perpetrator usually expresses remorse. Consequently the victim feels more generous towards them.”


Proposition -all behaviour is an attempt to meet (universal) needs

➲ Come up against our own limits to empathy


Preparation for Face to Face meeting

● Coach the Victim and Perpetrator to giving and receiving empathy, before a face to face meeting.


Face to Face -Step 1 of 6

●Victim receives empathy for their present pain from Perpetrator until they feel understood.


Face to Face -Step 2 of 6

●Ask Perpetrator, “How do you feel as you hear victims pain”? ●Facilitator translates self hatred, guilt, shame and all thinking that they are bad, to feelings and unmet needs - this can help them then connect to their mourning.


Step 3

●Victim empathises with Perpetrators mourning.➲At this point the Victim is usually ready to understand the Perpetrator.


Step 4

➲ Facilitator asks the Perpetrator “What was going on in you at the time” when you did what they did.


Step 5

● Facilitator helps Victim empathise with the Perpetrator.


Step 6

➲ Parties make Request to each other to make life more wonderful, this could include reparations etc.

➲ (“Most wonderful thing” Marshall Rosenberg Workshop audio track “Forgiveness and Reconciliation”)


All people are saying 'please' and 'thank you'

➲ What's alive?➲ What would make life more wonderful?


The Skills of a Mediator / Restorative Justice Worker

➲ Empathy for all➲ Translating ways people say please and

thank you into clear observations, feelings, needs and requests

➲ Encouraging parties to express what each other is needing


1) punishment, 2) rewards

3) guilt and shame4) obligation and duty

➲ If I'm trying to control someone else or myself I will use those 4 things -all disastrous

➲ All violent➲ Why do we want people to do things?➲ Do we want people to want to give?


Domination Structures

➲ Teach blame -and self-blame


Behaviour that is “a tragic expression of unmet needs”.

Doing the best?

➲ If people not doing the best they know how to meet their needs, what model is being suggested? That they are evil?

➲ How can a restorative worker work constructively with that?


Reflect on a case of sexual offending with which

you are familiar-what are the unmet needs of

the victim(s)?

➲ (Use yellow post-its please)


What do you speculate to be the needs that the offender in some way met in doing

what they did?

➲ (Use pink post-its please)


What do you speculate to be the unmet needs of the

offender in doing what they did?

➲ (Use pink post-its please)


What do I have to do to meet my needs at the expense of someone

else?

➲ I have to cut off from the other person's humanity /humaness


The role of Role Play?

➲ Transforming enemy images by mediating between someone involved in the offence (victim or offender) and someone not involved with full needs consciousness. (Met and unmet needs of both)


Working with enemy images➲ The emotional pain is a product of

projections (no one causes you to feel anything)

➲ (playground example -same physical pain -different responses)

➲ Think of something that someone did that brings up pain when you think about it

➲ How would you work on transforming the enemy image?


Feelings literacy➲ Emotional intelligence -Daniel Goleman et

al➲ Self-awareness, self-management, social

awareness, relationship management➲ Intensity of feelings➲ Teaching feelings by initially engaging with

feelings that are more easily acknowledged -excitement etc

➲ Computers and emotional literacy➲ -the role of feelings -to indicate met or

unmet needs. Towards Needs Literacy


Gender and feelings - needs

➲ Generalisation -males more likely to say 'yes' to a guessed need rather than a guessed feeling

➲ Women - more comfortable with an exploration of feelings first to get to the underlying needs


Who is dangerous?

➲ The offender who says 'I'm dirt for doing what I did'

➲ The offender who will not look at their met and unmet needs?


What ApologyPlus does?

➲ More than sorry➲ Encouraging people to take responsibility

and to be present with what is alive in the other person

➲ Enabling unmet needs to be clearly seen


Thank you


The definition of RJ

➲ “Restorative Justice works to resolve conflict and repair harm. It encourages those who have caused harm to acknowledge the impact of what they have done and gives them an opportunity to make reparation. It offers those who have suffered harm the opportunity to have their harm or loss aknowledged and amends made.”(Restorative Justice Consortium 2006)

Documents

Www.mediationsupport.info Restorative Justice -overview, examples and matters of contention (Presented by Paul Crosland) “An enemy is one whose story we