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Restorative Practices RestoraEtive PrFacticOes RUM Restorative Community Policing in the UK: , and Norfolk Point the Way By Joshua Wachtel Police in roughly 50E percent of counF- ative justiceO programs withoutR a national Uapproached 98 Mpercent, and the number ties in England and Wales employ some legal mandate to do so believe this change of youth entering the justice system was form of restorative justice (RJ). Con- in performance assessment authorizes reduced by 44 percent. (Go to: www.dor- stables in districts including Dorset them to use RJ in more cases. set.police.uk/default.aspx?page=2516 for (southwest), Cheshire and Lancashire Yvonne Surman, manager of the a short article and video of an actual re- (northwest), Hull (northeast) and Nor- Safe Schools and Communities Team, storative reprimand with a boy who threw folk (east) are actively making restorative a partnership of the and a rock, breaking a train windshield.) practices (RP) their first line of defense the Dorset Youth Offending Team, said For some very minor offenses, a new — at officers’ discretion — for dealing with that the National Crime national program called the Youth Re- neighborhood disputes, first-time and Recording Standard established in 2002 storative Disposal (YRD) gives officers the low-level youth offenders, youth crime resulted in “a huge increase in young discretion to deal with a case right then in schools, and some adult cases. people receiving a criminal record. When and there, on the street. Trained officers The movement toward RP is partly a a child had a fallout with a friend on the may also use RP to handle neighborhood reaction to national policy targets em- playground, it used to be dealt with in disputes. In one case, where for years the phasizing “sanction detection,” which school. Then police had to record it as police had tried everything but had con- increased the number of crimes prose- a crime and give it a number. We had a tinually failed to quell an endless stream cuted. As a consequence, prisons became 171 percent increase in reprimands and a of complaints between two neighboring overcrowded and the number of youth 400 percent increase in final warnings, households, a restorative conference was brought into the criminal justice system all for low-level things. It’s three strikes, finally held with the families. The police for the first time nearly doubled, many you’re out. First a reprimand, then a final couldn’t believe it when the previously for crimes that formerly would have been warning, then you go to court.” contentious neighbors went home to have dealt with by schools, parents, the com- The Dorset Police are employing RJ to a barbecue together. Dorset Police are munity or the neighborhood “bobby.” help reduce the number of youth entering also training schools to use RP for disci- Also, said Garry Shewan, assistant chief the justice system. They are also satisfy- pline and in day-to-day teacher-student of Cheshire Police, “Officers ing victims of crime in the process. Said interactions. have concentrated on the ‘low-hanging Surman, “This is not police driven. It is Kim Smith, restorative justice devel- fruit’ of detections achieved with the a very victim-focused process. We want opment manager for Norfolk Police, has least effort, ensuring that few persistent to see that the victims are satisfied about been working to train and promote the criminals were amongst the increases in how a crime is dealt with.” use of RJ in Norfolk for two years. Said detected crimes. Performance manage- Restorative reprimands for first-time Smith, “RJ is being developed on a variety ment has brought many more offenders youth offenders are offered for low-level of fronts, and it’s growing exponentially to justice, only they are the wrong offend- crimes like minor criminal damage or in terms of the interest being generated.” ers” (Shewan, 2009). theft, where there is no injury and less Smith started out training a small cohort However, a recent policy change by the than £200 of damage. The officer asks of local officers about conferencing. Home Office, the national government the offender and then the victim if they Now about 20 percent of the frontline department that oversees policing, has want to participate in a restorative con- policing staff has been trained by Smith established criteria for reviewing police ference, which may also be attended by and IIRP UK (www.iirp.org/uk). Of- performance based on public confidence family and friends of the victim and of- ficers receive a three-day training on and trust rather than on performance fender and other affected parties. In the how to facilitate restorative conferences targets and sanction detection. Constab- first six months of the pilot, which began or a one-day awareness training on how ularies that had previously piloted restor- in April 2008, victim satisfaction rates to use restorative questions like, “What

© 2009 INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR RESTORATIVE PRACTICES Restorative Practices May 6 2009 wwwwww..iiii r rp p .o.orrgg E FORUM happened?”Restorat i“Whove P wasra caffected?”tices and Each officer makes a decision based on 2009 and hopes then to bring restorative “What can be done to repair the harm?” offender risk factors and victim concerns. policing to a major city. to help resolve disputes immediately on So far, the police department has found Les Davey, former police officer and the street. Said Smith, “Many of the cases that 97 percent of its RJ disposals have RJ pioneer with , are problems we couldn’t deal with using been “appropriate and correctly deliv- the first UK police to adopt RJ, is now a conventional policing perspective. Here ered.” Said Shewan, “Give the officers CEO of IIRP UK, which has trained it’s dealt with in two hours.” trust, and they are delivering high quality police in Dorset, Norfolk and Hull. Smith, who previouslyE worked in LonF- RJ interventions.”ORUDavey argues thatM the effectiveness of RJ don and facilitated restorative confer- Shewan added that RJ has often been has been proven. In a recent editorial ences in the pilot research programs run used for “lower-level incidents, with no he quoted one advocate, “Restorative by Lawrence Sherman, Wolfson Professor long-term community impact.” Now they justice in the UK is fast becoming the of Criminology at Cambridge University are looking to apply RJ for more serious most over-evaluated and under-practiced (see eForum article, “Restorative Justice: offenses, in cases with more long-term area of criminal justice” (Hoyle, 2008), The Evidence” at www.realjustice.org/ community impact. The cases are being and another, “We can no longer afford library/rjevidence.html), said he finds closely monitored, and reports on the for Restorative Justice to be the most re- that in Norfolk County, where there impact are expected later i 2009. Shewan searched, most effective tool the Criminal is more of a community spirit than in is particularly interested in demonstrat- Justice System does not use” (Restorative urban areas, “You’re rebuilding some of ing the impact of the programs on victim Justice Consortium, 2008). (See also those community links again.” He gave satisfaction and public confidence in the eForum article, “Restorative Justice Re- the example of a case involving a group police force and believes that the results duces Crime and Saves Money” at: www. of youngsters who were planning to go to will be favorable. realjustice.org/library/ukresearch.html.) a school dance. When the event was can- Early indications show very high rates Davey would like to see RJ used more with celed some youth “got drunk and went on of victim satisfaction with the process, adults and with the burgeoning prison a mini-rampage around town. Police ran along with a reduction in reoffending population. He noted that police in Hull, a conference to address some of the harm, rates. An August 2008 report states: “The Norfolk and Dorset are furthering the use and the kids were happy for a chance to predicted rate of recidivism for those ju- of RP in schools and other areas. accept responsibility for their actions.” veniles within Cheshire who participated “We’re at the brink of an opportunity In Cheshire, approximately 1,000 in a restorative approach was 13%, against to take this further into policing,” said staff, or 85 percent of frontline police, the national rate of reoffending of 23.2% Davey. “RJ is value for money, the evi- have received “Level One” training by and a local rate within Cheshire of 31% dence for it is beyond proven, and there Restorative Solutions, directed by Sir for those who were issued a reprimand are practical examples throughout the Charles Pollard, former instead of the restorative approach. The country. RP can meet the new objectives of Thames Valley Police. Like the IIRP rate of recidivism for adult offenders and outcomes police have for the com- training, this one-day training gives of- committing their first offence and being munities they serve.” ficers an ability “to run a conversation dealt with through RJ is 0% as opposed References or meeting between people in conflict to the more traditional approach, where over ‘low-level’ or minor issues” (www. the rate is 13%” (Taylor, 2008). Howard League Restorative Justice Working restorativesolutions.org.uk). “Level Shewan is the ACPO (Association of Group. (2008, March). Discussion Paper for the Two” training offers two more days and Chief Police Officers for England and “Commission on English Prisons Today” (p.3). Oxford, prepares facilitators to run face-to-face Wales) lead on community and restorative UK: Carolyn Hoyle. Bailey, H. & Igoe, C. (2008, Summer). Re- meetings. justice and chair of the RAiN (Restorative storative justice does affect reconviction: The According to assistant chief constable Approaches in Neighborhoods) program, Ministry of Justice report into RJ. Resolution: News Garry Shewan, Cheshire Police are cur- which provides a system for police to from the Restorative Justice Consortium, 30, 6. rently handling 100 to 150 crimes per employ RP on the street. In this capacity, Shewan, G. (2009, January). Restoring the faith. month with restorative methods. The Shewan plays a key role in bringing to- Police Professional, p. 15. majority are youth crimes, but some are gether RP police advocates and advancing Taylor, J. (2008, August). An evaluation of the adult. The process is restricted neither to RP throughout the UK. He plans to move impact of restorative justice in Cheshire. an age group nor to first-time offenders. to the Manchester police force later in Cheshire, UK: Cheshire .

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