Seán Ryan
Question:32 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will introduce schemes based on restorative justice as an effective alternative to prison; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25160/98]
Written Answers - Restorative Justice Schemes.
I wish to inform the Deputy that I am fully committed to many of the concepts of restorative justice and measures as alternatives to custody in cases where the court decides that a sentence of imprisonment is not appropriate. New Zealand has been for a few decades to the forefront in the development of a restorative philosophy for youthful offenders under 17 years of age. The Families Act, 1989 involves the holding of a family group conference to which offenders and their families, victims and their supporters, the police and other specialists are invited to participate. Guided by a mediator, an apology is sought from the offender and time given to hear explanations as to the reasons for the offence and the effects it had on the victims, and what reparations would be undertaken to repair the damage done. Consensus is sought and recommendations are made to the Youth Court. If all the conditions of the recommendations are completed within a stated time, no conviction is recorded.
The juvenile liaison office scheme operated by the Garda Síochána embraces some of the key principles of restorative justice and this will be enhanced if the Children Bill becomes law. There will be a section in the Bill which will extend the family conference to the courts with features similar to the position in New Zealand.
Mediation is very much part of the concept of restorative justice, and the probation and welfare service will shortly be putting proposals to my Department on the establishment of a mediation programme. Discussions are ongoing with the Tallaght mediation service and the local District Court judge is receptive to the concept. It should also be noted that community service has elements of restorative justice in the community and to the community.
Dissatisfaction with the existing system and the lack of concern for crime victims in a number of countries, prompted the search for alternative models of justice. The restorative model which has emerged appears to resolve these issues using techniques which centrally involve the victim and the community.
I am aware that the Irish Penal Trust and Extern Northern Ireland have received funding from the Combat Poverty Agency with a view to establishing a restorative justice network in Ireland. They propose to jointly host a conference in Dublin in April, 1999. Also, the working group on a courts commission in its fifth report regarding the drug courts has recommended the creation of a drug courts system which would involve court supervised treatment programmes for less serious drug related offences, is a key feature of the Government's programme to combat the drugs problem. The goals of the drug courts would include: to reduce drug usage among defendants; to increase community functioning of the participants e.g., training, employment, birth of drug free babies, more effectively than the traditional adjudication process; to reduce recidivism; to reduce social disfunction; to reduce the overall cost to the State of the individuals; and to reduce the cost to the State of the prison service. The Government is fully committed to progressing the implementation of the drug courts pilot project in the District Court.
There are also a number of alternatives to custody already in place. On average, on a daily basis, there are approximately 4,400 offenders serving community-based sanctions under the supervision of the probation and welfare service. One alternative to custody is community service. In 1997, over 1,100 offenders were required to perform community service by the Courts. The Criminal Justice (Community Service) Act, 1983 has been in operation since 5 December 1984. It provides criminal courts with this additional sanction which they may apply in appropriate cases, that is, where a person is convicted of an offence for which the court considers that the appropriate penalty would be a custodial sentence, excluding offences where the penalty is fixed by law, such as murder.
A more recent development in the area of alternatives to imprisonment is intensive probation supervision. This is a special community based programme for serious or persistent offenders requiring a more intensive form of supervision. Participants on supervision orders from the courts may be referred to this scheme in place of a substantial custodial sentence — two years or more.
It is my Department's policy to develop probation as a viable alternative to imprisonment and towards this end funding is provided to over 40 hostels, day-centres and workshops in various parts of the country. These projects are operated by a number of voluntary, community and business groups in association with the probation and welfare service and are working to intervene with young people at risk of offending and to reduce re-offending among those who already are involved with criminal behaviour and on supervision to the service. The financial assistance available to these bodies in 1997 was £4.2 million. The 1998 budget allocation is £5.06 million for current plus capital costs.
In November 1997, I approved the establishment of an expert group to examine the probation and welfare service. The group has submitted its first report which I have recently published. I agree with the group's "belief that there is significant scope for strengthening the existing non-custodial sanctions available to courts to increase their options when determining the appropriate penalty for offenders who do not present a serious threat to the safety of the community and who do not need to be committed to custody to protect the community". The group will be setting out the factors which should be changed to bring about a new improved service in its next report which I expect to have in the first half of 1999.