18 DFómh 2012, 17:06
The Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement today heard of the benefits of community based restorative justice programmes from the representatives of leading organisations advancing the initiatives.
18 October 2012
Restorative justice can be defined as an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of the victims and the offenders, as well as the involved community, instead of satisfying abstract legal principles or punishing the offender. There are two main umbrella groups that support the delivery of restorative practices on the ground, Community Restorative Justice Ireland (CRJI) and Northern Ireland Alternatives (NIA).
Harry Maguire of CRJI and Debbie Watters of NIA addressed the Committee on the services their organisations provide throughout Northern Ireland, including mediation, conferencing, youth programmes, intensive restorative support for young people and adults.
Committee Chairman Joe McHugh TD says: “Our Committee heard refreshing and uplifting presentations on this fresh approach to justice. Both Mr Maguire and Ms Watters spoke of their organisations’ respective journeys to becoming firmly embedded in the policing and justice systems in Northern Ireland. Both organisations also partner with housing, health and social affairs authorities in their work.
“A compelling case was made on the economics of the community based restorative justice approach, which was a small fraction of the cost of keeping the offender in prison. The recidivism rates within programme participants was 8 to 9 percent within a year of completion of the programme compared to 50 to 60 percent of those offenders incarcerated in mainstream prisons. So not only is this model more cost effective than conventional methods, it also keeps young people and adults out of a prison system that damages them.”
“This humane and non-punitive approach of restorative justice to address issues of conflict, crime and anti-social behaviour has considerable support across republican and loyalist communities and, as mentioned by a number of Committee Members, has relevance to tackling crime and its causes in communities across Ireland.”
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Paul Hand,
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Members of the Committee:
Deputies Seán Conlan, Seán Crowe, Clare Daly, Regina Doherty, Peter Fitzpatrick, Frank Feighan, Martin Ferris, Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, Peter Fitzpatrick, Michael P. Kitt, Joe McHugh, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, Joe O’Reilly, Brendan Smith and Joanna Tuffy.
Senators Jim D’Arcy, Maurice Cummins, Martin McAleese, Mary Moran, Mary White.
Chairman: Joe McHugh, TD Vice-Chairman: Joe O'Reilly, TD