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Terry Stacy |
Face-to-face justice can change the lives of victim and criminal
Restorative justice has arrived in Islington, allowing the victims of low-level crime and anti-social behaviour to confront offenders. Terry Stacy believes it is an idea whose time has come
IMAGINE finding a stranger lurking in your home, confronting him, forcing him outside and watching the police take him away.
That’s what happened to Londoner Will Riley when career criminal and “one-man crimewave” Peter Woolf came calling. Will was injured in the struggle, but what really shook him was his fear that it could happen again, that his family home was unsafe.
Then he was offered the chance to meet the burglar after he was jailed, and – despite reservations – he agreed.
At first, the meeting was a waste of time, both men agree, but then the burglar made a reference to “when we first met, Will”.
Will exploded with anger “like a fire hydrant”, saying: “We didn’t meet in some cocktail bar in Islington. You broke into my house. You destroyed my one belief that I had, which is my ability to protect my family and my house from people like you.”
Being able to vent his fury to the man who broke into his home made a huge difference to Will. And also Peter, who hasn’t re-offended.
This isn’t a fairy story, it’s a real-life case of restorative justice, where offenders confront the people they’ve wronged.
For too long victims of crime have complained of feeling shut out and failed by the criminal justice system. As a magistrate, I have seen this first-hand.
I’ve also seen how offenders can get stuck in a revolving door of “crime, court, prison, crime, court, prison”, with no way out. Restorative justice can help victims of crimes and criminals who want to change their lives.
Islington is one of four places in London chosen as pilot areas for restorative justice, sometimes known as RJ.
Police and council officers now have the training to enable them to carry out restorative justice. It’s early days, but they’re already putting it into place on our streets and communities.
In Islington, restorative justice is being used for cases that are far less dramatic than that of Will and Peter, though they can have the same successful results.
The first cases in Islington have, as you might expect, been low-level, dealing with situations that haven’t come to court, and hopefully won’t.
This has included bringing neighbours together over disputes.
They’ve also brought a boy together with a person he had been racially abusing so he could see first-hand the impact of his words.
So far, all of the restorative justice in Islington has been of the “instant” or “street” kind, suitable for low-level crime and anti-social behaviour.
The next step will be to move on to “conferences” – organised meetings to discuss more serious grievances. This includes bringing together victims and criminals, so victims can explain the anger, hurt and fear they have suffered.
Some people, though, seem to have the idea this is some sort of “kiss-and-make-up” soft option on crime.
That is totally wrong. For a start, restorative justice runs alongside the criminal justice system. Burglars won’t be spared a prison sentence if they agree to take part.
It’s obviously not going to work for everyone. Some victims won’t want to do it, neither will some criminals. Others will take part and then re-offend, although early information suggests that those who take part are far less likely to do so.
But it is something that can make a real difference, and tackle problems that affect people’s quality of life.
Restorative justice has already been tried not far away, in Barnet, and it’s been a success overall.
In one case, a neighbourhood panel had complaints about young people causing anti-social behaviour in a particular neighbourhood. Police brought the youths face-to-face with the panel and they were able to see it from each other’s viewpoint.
An agreement was put in place, at the end: less anti-social behaviour, and for young people more alternatives to hanging out on the street corner.
Of course, restorative justice is just one tool to use against crime, and Islington Council has also been taking practical steps such as finding more money for electronic scanning wands for police to use on patrol.
The council has also set up its gang prevention scheme, which involves working closely with police to target those young people who are most at risk of drifting into crime.
Equally importantly, the council is committed to spending millions of pounds each year on education and youth and leisure services to give young people alternatives to crime.
Police will obviously still be arresting people as before – although crime has been falling faster in Islington than anywhere else in London.
Restorative justice won’t solve every problem. But neither is it a soft option – it is a valuable tool against crime.
Crucially, it can help people like Will feel the justice system has not failed them, and it can even transform lives like Peter’s.
n Councillor Terry Stacy is Liberal Democrat deputy leader of Islington Council and a magistrate
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