What is Restorative Justice?"Restorative Justice is an ethos with practical goals, among which is to restore harm by including affected parties in a (direct or indirect) encounter and a process of understanding through voluntary and honest dialogue. Restorative justice adopts a fresh approach to conflicts and their control, retaining at the same time certain rehabilitative goals" (Gavrielides 2007). Click here for a short lecture by Prof. John Braithwaite, Australian National University. Click here for a presentaton by Prof. Mark Umbreit on mediation |
April 2011 Press Release: The 3E Model for a Restorative Justice Strategy in EuropeIARS is pleased to announce that it has been successful in its partnership bid to the European Union for a new two year project titled "The 3E Model for a Restorative Justice Strategy in Europe". The consortium of 7 countries is led by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Dr. Theo Gavrielides, IARS Director, is the Project Lead for the UK. The project is due to start in June 2011 and will focus on the development of restorative justice as a response to crime in 11 European countries. The countries who bid and won the EU grant are: Greece, UK, Bulgaria, Finland, Poland, Hungary and Spain. The project will carry out a comparative study of 11 European countries from the North, Western, Central, Eastern and South Europe to develop a coherent strategy for restorative justice across Europe. Through the identification of best practices and the exchange of low budget best practice models a guide will be develop for regional and national bodies. Dr. Gavrielides, IARS Founder and Director said: "IARS has been a pioneer in the field of research on restorative justice and this project will give us an opportunity to work across Europe and with other countries. Pushing the barriers for restorative justice has been my passion, and I look forward to working with other restorative justice experts on this exciting new initiative". Ben Lyon, a leading practitioner in restorative justice and one of the founders of the Register of Restorative Justice Practitioners will work as the Project Coordinator. For more information on this project and how to get involved please contact Dr. Theo Gavrielides The project is funded under the European Commission Directorate E: justice programme, Justice, Freedom and Security (JLS/2010/JPEN/AG). January 2011: updateIn January, Dr. Gavrielides, completed the MEREPS fieldwork with practitioners, policymakers, prison staff and young people who had experienced RJ while in prison. The findings are now been introduced into a UK report which will be launched later in 2011 and presented in Budapest at the end of the MEREPS project in 2012. The UK report focuses on the use of restorative justice in the juvenile secure estate and attempts both a descriptive and a critical account of existing practices. The evidence based recommendations are aimed at national and European policy bodies, researchers and strategy analysts. Furthermore, IARS and ICCCR of Open Unviersity have agreed to hold 2 further expert seminars on restorative justice. Further information can be obtained from here In other news, the UK coalition government continues to encourage the use of restorative justice. Several positive comments were made in Parliament while the Ministry of Justice and Home Office are working with stakeholders and the restorative justice movement on several initiatives including standards and accreditation.
December 2010: updateOn the 7th December 2010, the UK government published its Sentencing Green Paper, announcing its intentions for key reforms in the adult and juvenile sentencing philosophy and practice. The consultation period will close on 4th March 2011 and IARS will work hard with its partners and members to feed into this unique opportunity. Among other things, the Green paper highlights police-led street restorative justice (RJ) as a diversion from caution/reprimand for low level crime and anti-social behaviour, diversionary RJ for adult and young offenders, and RJ pre-sentence for adult offenders. IARS has championed RJ since its creation and provided evidence based arguments to government and international fora. The Ministerial Foreword in the Green paper noted: "There is much work to do in a criminal justice system whish is so badly in need of reform ... We will simplify and reduce a great mass of legislation ... We will put a much stronger emphasis on compensation for victims ... I think it is right to describe these reforms as both radical and realistic". Dr. Theo Gavrielides, IARS Director, said: "We welcome the goverment's plans for a more holistic approach to offending. 75% of offenders sentenced to youth custody re-offend within a year. It is about time that crime is seen as a harm done to the victim, the society and indeed sometimes to those close to the offender. Restorative justice and alternative dispute resolution processes have proved their significant contribution to the methodologies adopted by the current criminal justice system. The genuine intentions behind these reforms are still to be seen and tested". In other news, on 17th December, Panteion University of Athens held a conference to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights, which was opened for signature by member states on 4 November 1950 in Rome. Dr. Theo Gavrielides, IARS Director, spoke on the relationship of human rights and restorative justice values and legislation. Download the full programme below and his presentation by clicking here The Convention today upholds the human rights of 800 million Europeans in 47 states. Prof. Vasso Artinopoulou, Vice-Rector at the University will organise the event on the 17th December. Judges, lawyers and academics are expected to attend. There, she will be launching her new book Η Επανορθωτική Δικαιοσύνη – Η Πρόκληση των σύγχρονων δικαιικών συστημάτων (Restorative Justice. A challenge for the criminal justice systems). Dr. Gavrielides who wrote the Foreword for the book said: "This is a much needed, well researched manuscript. Its publication is timely and much anticipated. I have every confidence that it will make a unique contribution to the field of restorative justice in Greece". Dr. Gavrielides will also be talking about his new book "Rights and Restoration within youth justice" due to be published in 2012 by de Sitter Publications: Canada. The book will bring for the first time under the same roof the disciplines of human rights and restorative justice. It will be an edited Volume with contributions from leading authors in the human rights and restorative justice field including Prof. Harvey, Prof. Braithwaite, Prof. van Ness and Prof. Newburn to mention but a few. For more information contact. Dr. Theo Gavrielides
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November 2010 update:On 22nd November, IARS and the International Centre for Comparative Criminological Research (ICCCR) at Open University held an expert seminar titled “Drawing together research, policy and practice for restorative justice”. Some of the country's leading experts in restorative justice, officials, Youth Justice Board and NGOs came together to discuss current trends, gaps and strategic steps for implementation, policy and research. Dr. Theo Gavrielides, IARS Director and Visiting Senior Research Fellow at ICCCR said: "It is not often that restorative justice practitioners are given the space to join academics and policy makers and on an equal and independent footing set the agenda and agree a way forward. I am pleased that IARS and ICCCR provided a platform for a much needed discussion on the gap that needs to be bridged between the restorative justice theory, practice and policy". Home Office, Youth Justice Board, Victim Support, Ministry of Justice, Prison Reform Trust, Probation and several universities were among the organisations represented at the seminar. Keynote speakers, Prof. Gerry Johnstone (Hull University), Ben Lyon (Register of RJ Practitioners) and Graham Robb (Youth Justice Board) spoke about gaps in restorative justice research, practice and policy and identified ways forward. The consensus was that restorative justice is ready to be put to far broader use, and yet more resources are dedicated to theorising rather than actual implementation. Despite encouraging evidence and millions of pounds spent on government pilots and research projects, restorative justice remains in the shadow of the law and dependent on the good will of community mediators and the voluntary sector. Police officers, prison staff and other public sector providers who believe in the value of restorative justice often implement it with no support from the top or a long term strategy. Future seminars are to be held by IARS and ICCCR while a full report is expected to be published soon. For more information contact Dr. Theo Gavrielides (T.Gavrielides@iars.org.uk), Tel 020 8133 8317, Office Mob: 07970924535 Ends. IARS is a youth-led social policy think-tank with expertise in restorative justice, equality, human rights, crime and public legal education ICCCR is a research centre at Open University. It is a multi disciplinary and cross faculty initiative drawing on expertise from Social Sciences Health and Social Care.
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October 2010 update:The research for the UK MEREPS project is well under way. The desk research is now complete for the development of the discussion guides and questionnaires for the qualitative fieldwork which is due to take place November 2010 - February 2011. The fieldwork will focus on young victims and offenders, as well as restorative justice practioners and policy makers. Click here to download the project brief. As part of the MEREPS project and in order to inform the qualitative data of the UK project, IARS is organising an expert seminar in partnership with the International Centre for Comparative Criminological Research at Open University. This high profile event is due to take place on 22nd November at the Open University London campus and is titled "Drawing together research, policy and practice for restorative justice". Forty restorative justice experts, leading academics and practitoners have confirmed attendance. The event will open with a keynote speech by Dr. Theo Gavrielides (IARS Director and lead for the UK MEREPS project). Ben Lyon (senior restorative justice practioner) will then speak about current challenges and opportunities for restorative justice practices followed by Prof. Gerry Johnston (Prof. of Law, Hull University) who will speak about current research gaps in restorative justice. Graham Robb (Board member, Youth Justice Board) will then speak about the current policy and institutional framework for restorative justice. The 4 hour event will allow the experts to exchange information, ideas and best practices in this very critical time for the restorative justice movement. For more information please contact Dr. Theo Gavrielides Since this event is by invitation only, material from the conference will be made available in early December. A report is also going to follow with key findings and recommendations from the expert discussion. |
September 2010 update:September was a busy month for the MEREPS UK project. Dr. Gavrielides attended the European Society of Crimonology annual conference that was held in Liege. There, he presented the interim findings of the UK based MEREPS project and carried out fieldwork with leading proponents of restorative justice. The UK research focuses on the use of restorative justice in juvenile secure estates. It is carried out as part of the larger EU funded project "Mediation and restorative justice in prison settings". This high profile event brought together over 600 crimonoligists from around the world to present their latest research. Several sessions on restorative justice were held. Dr. Gavrielides chaired one of the sessions focusing on pushing the barriers of restorative justice. To visit the conference webpage with details on the presentations conference click here For Gavrielides presentation click here Moreover, the qualitative research is underway. The interviewed sample of practitioners, policy makers, victims and offenders has been identified. The fieldwork will be carried out over the next fews months. If you would like to know more contact Dr. Theo Gavrielides for more information. Finally, a number of MEREPS newsletter publications have been produced. Click here for the monthly newsletter with information on MEREPS and IARS policy and research activities on restorative justice and here for the regular detailed newsletter. |
August 2010 update:August was another important month for restorative justice in the UK. Home Office officials and Ministers started to contact projects and organisations delivering restorative justice. The new coalition government took keen interest in community and alternative methodologies that divert from the traditional criminal justice model. IARS' UK MEREPS project moves onto the research phase "Using restorative justice with incacerated young people". The UK project is carried out by Dr. Theo Gavrielides, IARS Director and Senior Research Fellow at Open University. It aims to investigate the usage of restorative justice with sentenced and incarcerated young people below the age of 18 in England and Wales. The UK is one of the MEREPS country partners that has some experience in the application of restorative justice within secure settings. The UK based research and policy project aims to complement the evaluation that is taking place in Germany and the parallel research that is being undertaken in Hungary so as to allow cross learning and information exchange. The fieldwork will be carried out over the next fews months focusing on practitioners, policy makers and incacerated young people. Contact Dr. Theo Gavrielides for more information |
July 2010 update:July has seen restorative justice being discussed in the UK Parliament and media. The new coalition's government wish to reduce prisoners' population and find alternative methods of addressing crime put restorative justice back on the agenda. This debate was complemented with the publication of a new report "Time for A Fresh Start" encouraging the use of restorative justice with juveniles. The Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour reports that restorative justice in Northern Ireland should provide the model for major changes to the youth justice system. The commission, which carried out an 18-month study into alternative responses to youth crime, concludes that restorative meetings known as "youth conferencing" are the way to deliver better justice for the victims of crime, while cutting re-offending rates and custody numbers. Gavrielides, IARS Director said "I am very pleased with the news. Another evidence based report documenting the potential and effectiveness of restorative justice. I hope that the current political, policy and economic climate works in favour of restorative justice this time". To read Gavrielides statement in full click here On 2nd July, Dr. Gavrielides, project leader for the UK side of the EU funded MEREPS project spoke at the UK College of Mediators conference at South Bank University. The conference titled "Tales from the Edge" was attended by leading mediators and researchers and focused on the issues of accreditation, standards and innovative practice. Dr. Gavrielides gave a presentation on restorative justice covering issues such as definitions, cost-benefit analysis of restorative justice as well as the need to push the barriers for mediation and other restorative justice practices. Dr Gavrielides spoke about MEREPS and other innovative restorative justice programmes to argue that innovation and accreditation/ standards are complementary and not at odds. To read the presentation click here. For the programme click here. MEREPS is funded by the EU. On 27 July, Dr. Gavrielides also attended the Restorative Justice Consortium annual conference "Creative a Restorative Capital". There he gave an update of IARS and MEREPS activities on restorative justice. Meanwhile, the MEREPS research on the use of mediation and other restorative justice programmes in juvenile institutions continues successfully. The research project plan which will be published next month includes in-depth case studies with juveniles who have received mediation as part of their sentence for committing a serious crime such as hate offences. Finally, Dr. Gavrielides and Prof. Artinopoulou submitted a paper for publication titled "Restorative justice with cases of violence against women". |
June 2010 update:The last three months have been extremely busy for the UK based project run by IARS for the EU funded Mediation and Restorative Justice in Prison Settings Project (MEREPS). Key updates: Events & Publications: Dr. Theo Gavrielides, IARS Director, has been invited to speak at a national conference on restorative justice. There, Dr. Gavrielides will be talking about the use of mediation and restorative justice post-sentencing and in prison settings. Furthermore, Dr. Gavrielides will be presenting two papers on restorative justice at the international conference of the European Society of Criminology due to be held in September in Liege. With regards to publications, IARS circulated its first London Youth Now newsletter featuring updates from MEREPS. Finally, Dr. Borballa Fellegi, Foresee Director, and Dr. Tunde Barabas, Head of Department National Institute of Criminology in Hungary have successfully submitted an abstract for the publication of a paper titled "Restorative justice and rights in prisons and post-sentencing: a Hungarian case study". This will feature in the Edited Volume "Rights and Restoration within youth justice" by Gavrielides, published by de Sitter Publications in 2012. Research: Following a successful study tour in London by our Hungarian partners, IARS has now started its research project for MEREPS. The UK based project aims to look at the use of mediation and restorative justice in juvenile institutions and post-sentencing. A research plan is currently being developed to include secondary and primary research with qualitative interviews with practitioners, service users and policy makers. Preliminary in-depth interviews have been carried out with organisations such as Probation and Safer London Foundation. |
March 2010 update:Between 9th and 11th November 2009, 13 Hungarian experts had the opportunity to attend a study tour in London as part of MEREPS. The main aim of the study tour was to give an overview of the legislative and policy framework for restorative justice in the UK, and also provide examples of restorative practices taking place both in and our of the formal criminal justice system setting. Click here for the study tour Handbook. The Delegates: The Hungarian delegation included representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office, high-ranking officers of the Balassagyarmat Penitentiary, and experts of the Probation and Mediation service of the Office of Justice, the National Institute of Criminology and two non-governmental organisations: the Community Service Foundation Hungary, which is a member of the International Institute of Restorative Practices, and the Hungarian Crime Prevention and Prison Mission Foundation, which is an affiliate of the Prison Fellowship International. The Speakers: Presentations and workshops were held to give an overview of the current state of the theory and practice of restorative justice in the UK by the following speakers: To download the Study tour report click here |
September 2009 update:Dr. Theo Gavrielides (IARS, UK), Dr. Barabas Tunde (National Institute of Criminology, Hungary) and Lewis Parle (IARS, UK), partners in the MEREPS project publish three papers in Policy and Race Journal. Click the papers below to download them for free. L Parle (2009) "Restorative justice and youth sentencing" 1:1 Policy & Race Journal. |
April 2009 update:IARS starts a new three year project titled "Mediation and Restorative Justice in Prison Settings" (MEREPS), funded by the European Union and carried out in partnership with other European countries. The main object of the project is to explore the opportunities for implementing mediation and RJ practices into the prison settings. Further aim is to test if such practices can help supporting victims of crime, raising responsibility-taking in offenders, supporting the prison staff and inmates in peacefully resolving their internal conflicts and reintegrating offenders into society after release. Piloting RJ in the correctional settings also allows to test the potential of RJ in the most serious crimes that usually have a significant impact on both victims and offenders Click here to download the project flier |
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