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More victims to get answers as PCC confirms
restorative justice service will run for 2nd year
A service that
helps victims of crime to get answers from offenders will be run for a 2nd year,
Merseyside's Police Commissioner hs recently confirmed.
In 2015, Jane Kennedy announced that she would be working with Merseyside's
Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) and not for profit community interest
company Restorative Solutions to raise awareness of restorative justice and
increase its use in the region, giving victims in Merseyside the chance to come
face to face with offenders and make them realise the consequences of their
crimes.
Following confirmation of Ministry of Justice funding, the Commissioner is now
enabling the service to continue to run for a second year, through 2016 and into
2017. Following a rigorous tendering exercise, Jane has announced today that the
CRC and Restorative Solutions will once again deliver a victim led restorative
justice scheme across the whole of Merseyside.
Jane said:- "Restorative justice gives
victims the chance to be heard, to get answers and to get a sense of closure.
Giving victims who want to the chance to come face to face with those who have
committed crimes against them and can help them to find a really positive way
forward and even give them back some control over their anxieties. While
restorative justice may not be for everyone, the aim is to ensure any victim of
crime who feels this approach could benefit them is able to find out more,
discuss their options with an experienced and accredited practitioner and decide
if it really is for them. That's exactly what the CRC and Restorative Solutions
are providing on Merseyside. Not only that, but they are raising awareness to
make sure more and more victims of crime know that this is a path they can take
if they feel it could help them. I am pleased that the CRC and Restorative
Solutions will continue to deliver this service for people across Merseyside, no
matter where they live."
Merseyside CRC and Restorative Solutions will continue to work closely with
Merseyside Police and all the Commissioner's criminal justice partners to
deliver this service over the next 12 months, with the four key aims of
increasing access; working with criminal justice partners to increase the number
of restorative justice referrals; improving awareness and understanding of
restorative justice and its benefits and delivering a high quality service
focussed on the needs of victim and delivered by a trained facilitator.
Through this service, restorative justice is available at all stages of the
criminal justice process, including pre-conviction and even in cases where a
victim has not reported an offence to the Police.
Restorative justice should always be voluntary and only takes place after both
the victim and offender agree and a trained facilitator has assessed the case as
suitable. This means a lot of careful preparatory work is required before a
victim and offender meet. Victims also have the opportunity to withdraw at any
point.
In February, the CRC hosted a major conference at the Anglican Cathedral which
aimed to give the public a wider understanding of restorative justice and the
impact it can have, both on the victim and the offender. Those who attended
heard of the "tremendous benefit" a restorative justice conference
had for a woman who chose to meet her partner's killer, helping her to come to
terms with what had happened.
Merseyside CRC's Head of Operations and Development John Quick said:- "We
are so pleased to have been re-commissioned to deliver victim led Restorative
Justice in Merseyside for the next 12 months."
The CRC and Restorative Solutions have previously delivered specialist
restorative justice training to specific teams within Merseyside Police. This
training aimed to equip PCSOs with greater knowledge and understanding of
restorative justice to enable them to identify the cases where a victim would
benefit from participating to help them cope and recover.
You can contact the Restorative Justice team on:- 08452660761 or send them an
email.
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