Restorative Justice Action Plan 2019 - 23

Outcome 1: Restorative Justice is available across Scotland

Activity

• In January, CJS and the Scottish Government presented a joint paper to members of the Criminal Justice Board, advising on the progress to date in RJ development, opportunities for further engagement and challenges faced. It was agreed that a national Policy and Practice framework should be developed to support RJ development in Scotland as a parallel process to the criminal justice system. This policy will be developed by the Scottish Government, CJS, key stakeholders and those who have experience of harm in Scotland. It is anticipated this will be available in draft form by late Spring 2023.

• The RJ World Café Research Project: in March 2023, CJS were commissioned to complete a series of World Cafés with individuals who have experienced harm. On 18 March, SafeLives hosted the RJ national team in Dundee to complete this with those who have specifically experienced domestic abuse, and on 31 March, Resilience Learning Partnership hosted the team for a World Café with those who had experienced a range of harm types. Both cafés were vibrant, creative and inspiring experiences for the team and those who attended, which carefully considered what people need in an RJ service that respects choice, safety, preparation, togetherness and individuality. CJS would like to thank both organisations for their support.

• Further World Cafés and interviews are planned to take place in the coming months, with a focus on those who have caused harm and also for professionals. Output from the World Cafés will be analysed and used to directly inform the development of policy, RJ screening tools and service development. 

• In March, Inesa Velaviciute was successful in her recruitment to the RJ Development Officer post. Both the RJ Administrative and RJ Project Lead posts are currently under recruitment.

Activity

Progress

• The Children’s Rights Impact Assessment in relation to the Restorative Justice Action plan has now been completed and is awaiting feedback from stakeholders working in Children’s Rights. 
• CYCJ attended an RJ forum, RJ practitioner’s network and Scottish Network of Restorative justice researchers (SNRJR) in this quarter. Further discussions are due to take place with SNRJR in relation to CYCJ involvement in the planning and delivery of a Restorative Justice for children and young people event taking place later this year.
• A new participation worker came into post in February which has allowed for a wealth of activity in relation to the planned participation work. A plan has been agreed for 3 separate engagement projects for children over aged 12 including engaging with children with justice experience in a school setting, and children in a local youth group. Both of these projects will run for 6 weeks and gain a deeper understanding of children’s perceptions of restorative justice, how this is presented and how to break down the barriers to participating in restorative justice.
• In addition, there will be further projects for children under the age of criminal responsibility as well as professionals working with children and young people.
• All of this participation work will run in parallel to the World Café research with adults being carried out by CJS.
• The restorative justice chapter of the ‘Children and young people in conflict with the law: policy, practice and legislation’ has now been fully updated and will be published in June this year.
• A meeting took place this quarter with Education Scotland in relation to the joint information sheet which should be published next quarter.

Activity

Progress

• Thriving Survivors has one case already being undertaken and should be completed  in the coming weeks. A full evaluation report and case studies will be produced. 
• The development of TS’s National - Local partnership model is now completed and it will be widely advertised for open registration across the Sheriffdom area by the end of April. 
• Thriving Survivors is currently recruiting for an RJ Coordinator and it is hoped the successful applicant will be in post by the 1st of May.

Outcome 2: Restorative Justice is delivered by highly trained and skilled facilitators

Activity

Progress

• Restorative Justice Learning Module: in response to consultation on how to improve RJ knowledge and communication with stakeholders in November 2022, the CJS national team commissioned the development of an online learning module for operational staff on restorative justice This is a basic introduction to the topic and explains what this is, how the approach can work, its benefits and common misconceptions. The resource includes links and videos to aid learning and also offers a certificate on completion of a short knowledge check. The module takes around 20-30 minutes to complete and will be accessible via the  CJS Restorative Justice Learning Hub. Testing and refining the draft module is currently at an early stage, with further testing across stakeholders to follow. It is hoped the module will be launched in May 2023.

Activity

Progress

• Work this quarter has focused on other areas of the Action Plan as CYCJ awaits direction following the publication of the Training Needs Analysis. Discussion took place at the RJ stakeholder group meeting around accreditation for training with group members tasked with thinking about what this should look like.

Activity

Progress

• Thriving Survivors Restorative Justice levelled training is now completed and staff and flying squad members are due to begin facilitating low level cases in April.
• Due to the success of the initial training programme, Thriving Survivors is now creating a waiting list for those who would like to participate in round two. It is expected to have a further 10 individuals training in RJ in the coming months. 

Outcome 3: There is a public awareness and understanding of Restorative Justice across Scotland

Activity

Progress

• Over the period of this quarter, the RJ national team provided the following inputs and events on RJ: 
  13 Feb: Dumfries and Galloway Community Justice Partnership
  28 Feb: Trauma Informed Lawyers
  7 Mar: Dutch delegates (Pedagogy) at CJS (with CYCJ)
  17 Mar: North Lanarkshire Justice Social Work
  20 Mar: Violence Reduction Uni
  21 Mar: SG trauma-informed Peer Learning Support Workshop

• The team also supported a number of students and academics in their research into RJ development and progress in Scotland. If you would like any advice, guidance and support on RJ, or represent a group or organisation requiring more information on RJ in Scotland, please contact: gemma.fraser@communityjustice.scot

Activity

Progress

• Whilst awaiting clarification from the practice and policy framework, CYCJ spent time engaging with several local authorities and third sector organisations. The aims of these sessions were to ascertain what if any restorative justice services for children and young people were running in these areas, their appetite for progressing this and what the local barriers are. CYCJ engaged with 10 local authorities, both at management level and frontline practice, as well as presenting at the Early and Effective (EEI) Intervention forum with a mailing list of over 100 stakeholders. In addition, CYCJ presented to 3 third sector organisations as well as the Scottish Fire and Rescue early intervention team.
• Following the feedback from the engagement sessions with local authorities, a half day information sharing session (a roadshow) is being developed specifically in relation to restorative justice and children in conflict with the law.
• In order to ensure a joined-up approach, CYCJ presented to the Scottish Government’s Youth Justice Team in relation to the restorative justice work. Furthermore, we met with the Victims and Witnesses Team to ensure they were aware of the victims work within the CYCJ work plan and how this work may complement that of the Restorative Justice Action plan.
• In collaboration with CJS, CYCJ met with a group of Dutch students to share the Restorative Justice work in Scotland as well as learn from their experiences. This allowed us to consider the action plan in a wider context and sense check many of the ideas moving forward.

             

• This quarter CYCJ has also presented to the Law Society on Restorative Justice in Scotland, allowing to reach an audience outwith the usual stakeholders.

Activity

Progress

• Service posters and leaflets have been developed and will be widely available from April onwards.
• The staff team produces a monthly blog that provides updates on progress and developments. 
• Thriving Survivors has now created a suite of screening tools that will identify risk and ensure the safety of a restorative process. These tools will now be going out for public consultation with people who have lived experience.

Restorative Justice Animation

Useful documents

Contacts