We have one main concern: How are more referrals going to take place? Who is going to take responsibility for making RJ happen on the ground?

The recent report on Restorative Justice for Young Adults by Ian Marder (published by RJC, Barrow Cadbury and T2A Alliance) highlights the importance of using restorative justice with offenders aged 18-25.  We welcome this call for wider use of restorative justice and its potential to help young adults take responsibility for their own actions and we also note that if offenders desist then less victims are created. However we are concerned about the missing victim voice and experience in this report.

Call to action: Help us to get RJ to happen in your PCC area, youth offending team, probation team or prison by getting in touch with lucy.jaffe@why-me.org. We want to talk to you if you are active in Avon and Somerset, London and Manchester and want to make RJ reach more victims.

Many news organisations reported the answer to a question asked by the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper MP which showed that up to 10,000 instances of violence were dealt with by the police without the matter ever resulting in a prosecution or a caution.

Because “community resolutions” often result in an apology or the payment of compensation to the victim, many people seem to be confusing this with proper Restorative Justice.  Restorative Justice is a situation where a person who has admitted causing harm sits down in a meeting with the person – or people – who have been harmed.  This meeting is “facilitated” by a trained person who encourages those taking part to talk about what happened and to come to an agreement about what happens next.  The meeting can happen pre or post conviction – or indeed without a conviction ever happening.

The view of Why me? is that community resolutions – something used increasingly by the police – are not the same thing as Restorative Justice.  However, it is unfair to conclude that in some way the police are using them for violent offences as a soft and easy option in a rush to get quick disposals and cut paperwork.  It is unlikely that any of these community resolutions would have come about had the victim not been happy to proceed in this way.

This brings us back to the focus of Why me? – and that is about what victims themselves want.  Eighty five per cent of victims who have participated in Restorative Justice are satisfied with it.  This contrasts with victim satisfaction rates with court procedures which hover around the thirty per cent mark.  It’s possible – we suspect probable – that community resolutions (an alternative to court) are being welcomed by the victims involved.

Here’s our chairman, Will Riley, on the Victoria Derbyshire programme on Radio 5 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s38rf

If you represent an RJ provider and think you can help us with this, please do get in touch.

If you agree with this suggested “beefing up” of the promise to victims, please let us know as soon as possible and we can pass on your communication to the MoJ before the consultation period ends.

Ray and Vi Donovan

On Friday 1st March, Ray and Vi Donovan went to a restorative justice meeting with the third person who killed their son Chris.

Our restorative justice meeting with the third of Christopher’s killers was powerful. He was very truthful and honest and answered all our questions. It was a very emotional day for everyone. The meeting was 3 hours long. Restorative justice is so important because without it victims like us would never know the truth and get answers to our questions. Restorative justice is the best thing that has happened to this country because it works and helps both victims and offenders to move on.

Ray and Vi Donovan

You can find out more about their work on www.chrisdonovantrust.org

What is in the 2013 Transforming Rehabilitation consultation for victims? It is called ‘A revolution in the way we manage offenders’ and we are concerned that it is revolutionary for victims too. This can happen in two ways:

• Making restorative justice available to as many offenders as possible
• Giving the victim proper support to understand and go through the process

So we want to see restorative justice offered as an integrated part of rehabilitation and we demand that victim liaison forms a statutory part of contracts for providers. Ideally there will be a team of victim liaison officers, much like the wonderful example Dennis, Dianne and John in the Leeds Youth Offending Team – listen to audio clips of their work.

We support the Criminal Justice Alliance’s response to the consultation.

A well written and sympathetic article in a top selling daily newspaper like the Daily Mirror helps to get the word out to crime victims up and down the country that an restorative justice meeting could work for them too.  Margaret and Ian’s story.

We are seeking a good communicator to join our small team. 12 hours/week. £25-28,000 pro-rata with benefits. Find out more about the Observer Programme and download the Observer Programme Coordinator recruitment pack for more details.

“Many victims of crime get to see sentences being passed, but it’s not always enough to help them move on with their lives. We know that around 85 per cent of victims who participated in restorative justice conferences were satisfied with the experience.”

“That’s why I want restorative justice to become something that victims feel comfortable and confident requesting at any stage of the criminal justice system.  Victims deserve access to a high standard of restorative justice no matter where they are in the country and at a time that’s right for them.

“Our action plan, published today, as well as new legislation that is currently before Parliament to allow for pre-sentence restorative justice, commits us to making this a reality.”