Restoring The Victims Sense of Justice?

A blog to get us started! Thinking about what to include in the press release I became very aware that the needs and views of crime victims are rarely addressed compared to other aspects of the criminal justice system (for instance Google “victim support” then Google “criminal punishment” and see the difference in responses!). Which got me thinking about ways in which this can in part be redressed.

Listen to any public debate on crime in this country and you quickly sense something strange and contradictory about how we address (or often don’t address) the needs of victims. On one hand you are never far from an anxious and highly understandable complaint along the lines of “the rights of the criminal are greater than the rights of the victim”. On the other hand the response to this dilemma nearly always seems to revolve around what is deemed to be a harsh enough sentence for the criminal. Rarely it would appear are ways of supporting and recompensing those who suffer at the top of the agenda.

In recent years a concept that has slowly began to emerge into the light of discussions on crime and justice has sought to redress this balance where possible. It’s called Restorative Justice. The Home Office describes Restorative Justice in this way:

Restorative justice brings victims, offenders and communities together to decide on a response to a particular crime. It’s about putting victims’ needs at the centre of the criminal justice system and finding positive solutions to crime by encouraging offenders to face up to their actions.

Now the cynic may fear that this is yet another of a long line of well meaning, politically correct, fashionable but soon to be abandoned ideas in criminal justice. However Restorative Justice has its origins from the ideas of an ancient leader generally not currently considered to be fashionable, let alone politically correct! Moses.

Moses? “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Surely not? However within the Old Testament law there is an important principle regularly used that if a crime is committed the victim should be recompensed. So for instance, in our society theft might result in imprisonment. In 21st Century Britain our first instinct is often to look at ways in which we can deny the offender liberty. Compare this for instance with Exodus 22 verse 1 "If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.” The first instinct is to see how the victims interests can be restored. Its not just a matter of repaying the victim its repaying with plenty of interest. You could almost imagine an ancient Jew down on his luck praying for an incompetent thief!

And this idea was clearly important to the Jewish people of biblical times. We don’t for instance have any recorded instances of people swapping teeth after a fight (mankind had to wait until the invention of Rugby for that kind of thing to happen on a regular basis). Let alone any retributive eye gouging. However we do have examples of this idea of compensating the victim.

For instance the story of Zacchaeus the Tax Collector in Luke 19;1-9 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%2019&version=31).

Now as the story goes Zacchaeus was the Chief of the Tax Collectors in Jericho. And it would appear as the top Taxman in the city Zacchaeus wasn’t above over-charging or dipping his fingers into the coffers. Now something happens to Zacchaeus when he meets Jesus. He suddenly understands the nature of the corrupt way he makes money, his crime. What does Zacchaeus do to publicly declare his guilt?:

He doesn’t for instance ban himself from being a company director for a few years.

Neither does he decide to pay a fine to a bureaucracy.

Both very modern ways of dealing with crooked business practice.

No, Zacchaeus says “…and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." (verse 8).

Zacchaeus understands that at the centre of his concept of Justice is the need to make amends to his victims. The need of the victim is paramount.

But how can these ideas work in the world we live in now? Restorative Justice is being used increasingly as an option influencing criminal sentencing. There are 2 main ways in which this idea is being used. Firstly, through face-to-face meetings between the offender and the victim (including in many instances the victims friends and families). Secondly, through financial restitution. The Restorative Justice aspect of the sentence may at times be combined with a more traditional punishment also e.g. prison. The point being that these are ways of dealing with punishment that takes into account the needs and views of the victims.

Does it work? Well, it is not suitable for all types of crime and the face-to-face version is clearly only appropriate if the victim is comfortable with the process. However there is mounting evidence that this idea is effective in a number of ways. For instance studies have constantly shown positive correlations with reducing re-offending rates (this is borne out in the September 08 Ministry of Justice figures).

More importantly participation in Restorative Justice programs seem to work in the interest of the victim. For instance they have been shown to reduce instances of post traumatic stress and desire for violent revenge amongst victims. They have also increased the victims sense of satisfaction with the process in comparison to conventional criminal justice proceedings (see Esmee Fairbairn Foundations Restorative Justice: The Evidence report).

When the victims experience of the criminal justice system is often one of being overlooked and overwhelmed in the proceedings, then underwhelmed with the outcome, then any process which challenges this status quo has much to say to us. As celebrated criminologist Jerry Lee says “No other policy I have seen would put the victim so clearly ‘at the centre’ of a larger community of which we are all interdependent”.

Restorative Justice is by no means the answer to all our prayers regarding criminal justice in Britain. But used in the right circumstances it is certainly a step in the right direction.

For more information on:

Restorative Justice visit http://www.restorativejustice.org.uk/

Esmee Fairbairn Restorative Justice: The Evidence report visit http://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk/docs/RJ_exec_summary.pdf

Victim Support (UK’s major victim support charity) visit http://www.victimsupport.org.uk/