Te Ara Whakatika

Inside this issue

People with an interest in restorative justice in New Zealand are being urged to make submissions on an options paper produced by the Law Commission as part of its review of the court system.

Positive Feedback

Many victims who have participated in the court-referred restorative justice process have said they felt better after a conference, and that they received some kind of repair for the harm done, for example through an apology, reparation or community work.

Department for Courts project manager Alison Hill says that many also indicate they would recommend the restorative justice process to other victims.

Among the main reasons given by victims for attending conferences are to tell the offender what the offence was like and to find out about the offender.

"Many victims say they are satisfied with agreements reached and have gained a sense of closure, as well as some understanding of the reasons behind the offending.

"Feedback also suggests that offenders are being held accountable for their offences in restorative justice conferences."

For offenders, the most common reasons for taking part are to apologise and to make amends to the victim.

Offenders commonly have people at conferences who speak on their behalf, and support people often say they are prepared to help offenders in the future.

"Comments from participants in the pilot suggest that conferences help break down barriers between victims and offenders, and help reduce feelings of being victimised," says Alison.

"People attending conferences also appreciate being able to talk in a safe neutral setting."

Feedback from both victims and offenders indicates that many feel more positively about the criminal justice system after participating in the process.

The court-referred restorative justice pilot is being evaluated over a three-year period to determine whether the process benefits victims and reduces re-offending.

Pictured above: Actors taking part in role play during filming for a training video for the court-referred restorative justice project.

Referrals Update

By mid-December, more than 630 cases had been referred by judges in the District Courts involved in the pilot (Auckland, Waitakere, Hamilton and Dunedin) to determine whether restorative justice conferences could go ahead.

Conferences have been held in just over 220 of these cases.

Making Connections

Being a victim in a restorative justice conference affirmed to lawyer Ronda Tokona "how positive this kind of process can be."

Ronda, who specialises in employment law, recently completed training as a facilitator for the court-referred project in Dunedin.

"As a victim in a conference, it was excellent to be able to explain how the offender’s actions impacted on me, to articulate all the physical, psychological and emotional outcomes as a result, and to see the offender responding. I thought restorative justice is an amazing process to allow that to happen.

"Even if you were a hardened offender, you couldn’t help but be affected, because it's real. The victim is looking you in the eye."

It was a belief in the importance of such interaction between victims and offenders that led Ronda to become a restorative justice facilitator.

"Criminal law is an area I have never been keen to specialise in. When I did my law degree, I learnt about recidivism and how the same people were getting chucked out all the time. It wasn't something that I felt very positive about. I felt that if I joined the wheel, as it were, I wouldn't make any difference. But with restorative justice, I see some really positive outcomes."

Ronda (pictured) believes strongly in the need for a ‘connection' between the offender's behaviour and the impact on the victim - something she says is rarely achieved in the conventional court system.

"That's why I like restorative justice and why I got involved. I like the thought of being part of a process that brings the offender to hear what impact their behaviour had on the victim, and the victim actually having the opportunity to say, ‘hey, you pissed me right off'.

"That is a fundamental that we all should live by in our own everyday lives."

Ronda was impressed with the facilitator training.

"Conferences can be very emotional. There is a fine line between helping people express themselves and not being affected by it as well. I found the training particularly useful in terms of identifying what I as a facilitator need to do."

Towards a Policy Framework for Restorative Justice

The Ministry of Justice is working on a policy framework to guide the future development of restorative justice in New Zealand.

The manager of crime and justice policy for the Ministry, Caroline Holden, says a framework is needed because restorative justice and other informal justice approaches have been developing in an ad hoc manner across the country, and there is a lack of assurance that these processes are operating in a way consistent with best practice.

There is also a lack of guidance for the Government when making funding decisions about new initiatives.

The aim of the policy framework is to provide guidance to justice sector professionals about when referrals to restorative justice processes are appropriate, to clarify the roles and responsibilities of justice sector agencies in facilitating and convening restorative justice processes, to ensure that providers are of high quality and their processes are consistent with best practice, and to provide guidance for the Government regarding funding.

The Ministry will work with government agencies, restorative justice providers, the Judiciary and relevant practitioners such as lawyers to ensure that the framework is meaningful and effective at the local level.

Development of the policy framework is not expected to be completed until the end of next year.

Opportunity to Participate in Review

Readers with an interest in the development of our court system, including the role of restorative justice, will find a wealth of information and thought-provoking ideas in the options paper released recently by the Law Commission (see story on opposite page).

The paper is part of a review which aims to ensure that the courts provide a fair, timely and efficient way of resolving disputes, without sacrificing essential processes.

As commission president Justice Bruce Robertson says, many of the issues facing our courts are extraordinarily difficult, "but if we are to turn our rhetoric about ‘justice' into reality, we have to face the hard problems and look for ways of addressing them."

I urge people to take this opportunity to participate in the review process, by reading the Law Commission's options paper and making submissions on restorative justice and other matters of concern to them. - Margaret Wilson, Minister for Courts

Seeking Solutions: Options for the Court System

People with an interest in restorative justice in New Zealand are being urged to make submissions on an options paper produced by the Law Commission as part of its review of the court system.

Law Commission president Justice Bruce Robertson (pictured below) says that although restorative justice is only one component of the wide-ranging review, it is important that those with an interest in the process share their views on the place of restorative justice nationally and in their communities.

"Hearing from those affected by the court system is essential when deciding where changes need to be made.

Otherwise we will only be aware of the problems that are evident to those working within the system," he says.

The commission's paper, titled Seeking Solutions, puts forward options for the court system on access issues, such as cost and representation, civil and criminal court processes and also possible changes to the current structure - based on responses to the first part of the review.

A section on restorative justice summarises the process and its use in New Zealand, and uses a case study to illustrate the differences between restorative justice, diversion and prosecution and conviction.

Mention is made of the Department for Courts' restorative justice pilot in four District Courts, as well as two community-based services - Te Whanau Awhina in Waitakere and Project Turnaround in Timaru.

Restorative justice is heralded by many advocates of victims' rights as the best means to engage victims, offenders and communities in the search for a more positive resolution to crime. This concept was strongly supported in many submissions.

Restorative justice is also discussed in the first section of the paper, called Voices, reflecting the submissions received from the public.

Victims, Maori and other ethnic minorities all supported greater use of restorative justice.

The paper says that restorative justice processes encourage victims to express their feelings about what happened and to be involved in decisions about ways to redress the balance.

The New Zealand Council of Victim Support Groups expressed support for restorative justice methods.

"(Restorative justice) can be difficult for a victim, but it enables them to become central to the justice process."

The council emphasised, however, that victims need to be well informed and supported before and during the process.

Justice Robertson said that this comment mirrored a more general concern that restorative justice processes need to be better defined and comply with basic standards.

The paper notes that Maori have particular concerns about restorative justice.

"Some Maori wish to see their traditional ways of resolving disputes restored, and while they support community-based processes, they question how well their cultural needs have been met in current processes.

Some would prefer to devise their own community processes, to incorporate their own values, and to use their own methods."

The paper suggests that people of ethnic minorities may respond best to processes like family group conferences and restorative justice programmes for adult offenders.

"Restorative models, like some forms of traditional cultural justice, acknowledge community structures, involve family members, and can be adapted to meet particular cultural needs."

The Law Commission paper includes comments from American prosecutor Donald Schmid, who noted in his report Restorative Justice in New Zealand that the ability to accommodate cutural and ethnic diversity was a key to the effectiveness of restorative justice.

Conferences, for example, can be held anywhere.

"The ability to conduct a conference on a marae or at the offices of a community group (with due deference to the view of the victim as to venue) can make an important difference.

"Even if held at a governmental office, the family group conference procedure is flexible enough to allow prayer and other types of cultural accommodations."

The Human Rights Commission said in a submission that such processes "draw on New Zealand's bicultural heritage, and may relatively easily be adapted to reflect the culture of participants."

HaveYour Say...

Seeking Solutions is divided into four parts, titled Voices, Access to Court, Court Processes and Court Structure.

Copies of the paper are available from the Law Commission, PO Box 2590, Wellington, phone 04-4733453, or on the commission's website: www.lawcom.govt.nz.

Submissions on the paper are being accepted until Easter 2003.

The commission intends to present its final report in the second half of 2003.

New RJ Co-ordinator for Hamilton

Marianne Lammers has taken up the position of restorative justice co-ordinator at the Hamilton District Court.

The co-ordinator's role is to oversee the court-referred restorative justice process from referral to sentencing, to ensure that cases are referred to appropriate facilitators and that the process runs smoothly.

Marianne (pictured) is a New Zealander of Dutch origin.

She lived in Indonesia as a child and in Canada as a young adult before moving to New Zealand.

In the early 1990s she began working toward a doctoral degree in psychology, which she has now completed.

Before starting university, Marianne became the foundation co-ordinator of Victim Support in the South Waikato Police District, and during her years as a student she facilitated psycho-educational men's groups as part of the Hamilton Abuse Intervention Programme.

"Men convicted of abuse were sentenced to attend the programme. Most were very angry and didn't want to be there, and I had to facilitate a group of those guys and re-educate them about what was and wasn't okay in relationships.

"The idea was to have male and female facilitators, but there was a shortage of facilitators, so I ended up doing a lot of it by myself, sometimes with up to four trainees sitting in.

"It was a very challenging position, but I had a lot of energy for that. I did it for five years and really enjoyed it."

It was also a good learning experience.

"I knew nothing when I started. I had no idea about social power and how the differential in power in a relationship can set someone on the back foot, especially when that power is invisible."

Marianne has a Masters degree in counselling, and worked for two years as a student services counsellor at university.

While working towards her doctoral degree, she was also employed by the university as co-ordinator of a first year psychology course, and tutored and later lectured in that course. Marianne says she applied for the job as restorative justice co-ordinator with the court-referred pilot because she believes the process has a lot to contribute to the justice system.

"I don't think our current punitive prison system is doing anyone a favour - victims, offenders or the community.

"Victims don't have a say in the matter and offenders are not held accountable."

She believes that some offenders come out of prison "worse than when they went in. They are basically sitting in prison until their time is up. Nowhere are they taught that they have to become responsible for their actions."

Marianne says that with the introduction of the new Sentencing Act 2002, "restorative justice seems to really now have its place in the criminal justice process in New Zealand.

"I'm not saying it is the be all and end all, or that every restorative justice conference will go perfectly. But I do think there is heaps of potential to improve on the system."

Te Ara Whakatika is produced by the Department for Courts to ensure the wide community of people who support the restorative justice movement are kept informed about the court-referred restorative justice project. The items in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department for Courts or official policies. Articles in this newsletter may be copied and reproduced, but Te Ara Whakatika must be acknowledged. Te Ara Whakatika can be viewed online at www.courts.govt.nz/publications/news.html. Inquiries regarding the court-referred restorative justice project should be directed to: Alison Hill, Department for Courts, PO Box 2750, Wellington, Phone (04) 918 8839, Fax (04) 918 8820, email: alison.hill@courts.govt.nz; or to co-ordinators Islay Brown (Auckland) Phone 025 745 141, (09) 916 9000; Garry Summers (Waitakere) Phone 025 271 5148, (09) 916 5268; Marianne Lammers (Hamilton) Phone (07) 957 7816, (025) 271 5203; Cathy Brown (Dunedin) Phone 025 271 5164, (03) 471 5170. Te Ara Whakatika mailing list inquiries should be directed to: Abpost, PO Box 38756, Petone, Wellington. Fax (04) 568 3400.