NCJ Number
194508
Journal
Crime Victims Report Volume: 5 Issue: 6 Dated: January/February 2002 Pages: 83-84,93
Date Published
2002
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Ken Webster, a former policeman from the largest non-metropolitan police department in the United Kingdom, discusses his experience with the implementation of restorative justice in the United Kingdom.
Abstract
A significant change occurred in the Milton Keynes Police Area of Thames Valley in the early 1990’s when Charles Pollard was appointed as Chief Constable and Caroline Nicholl was made area commander. Mistakes within the department were viewed as learning tools instead of catalysts for reprimand. There was a distinct change from a police department to a police service. The police service put a greater emphasis on problem solving and less emphasis on strict law enforcement. The history of restorative justice in the United Kingdom dates back to the early 1980’s in the form of victim/offender mediation. Later a retail theft initiative was developed which required shoplifters to meet with store managers to discuss how their behavior impacted other members of society. Following the success of the retail theft initiative restorative conferencing was introduced. Restorative conferencing involves victim/offender mediation and includes family members and influential community members such as school teachers and pastoral counselors. Police officers are trained to facilitate restorative conferences through a five day course that emphasizes adequate preparation of all conference participants. The suitability of police officers as facilitators is the topic of an ongoing debate. There is concern about the ability of police officers to be free of bias and non-judgmental. A need exists for accreditation of trainers and ongoing quality checks of restorative conference facilitators. The author believes that the current evaluation method of restorative justice programs is inadequate and that qualitative measures should be included. Public support for restorative justice in the United Kingdom is low. The author attributes media rhetoric and mis-portrayal of restorative justice in favor of traditional retributive justice as the cause for low public support.