Face to face with violence and its effects: Restorative justice practice at work
| DOI | 10.1177/0264550507080351 |
| Author | Tim Newell |
| Published date | 01 September 2007 |
| Date | 01 September 2007 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice
Copyright © 2007 NAPO Vol 54(3): 227–238
DOI: 10.1177/0264550507080351
www.napo.org.uk
http://prb.sagepub.com
Face to face with violence and its effects:
Restorative justice practice at work
Tim Newell, retired Prison Governor
Abstract Restorative justice is developing organically within the criminal justice
system and although initially considered most applicable to young offenders and
with less serious offences, there is increasing evidence that it is with more serious
offending that there is considerable impact and particularly with offences of
violence. Restorative processes are considered in the context of increasing concern
about violence in society and in prisons. The author’s experience of governing
prisons gives him a perspective about violence from within the setting in which the
most violent and dangerous people in our society are held. David’s story, which
is part of the article, gives an illustration of how therapeutic work with people who
have been violent can be done in a custodial setting where there is time to focus
on the needs of all involved and affected by a violent crime.
Keywords community transformation, government role in justice, repairing harm,
restorative justice, stakeholder participation, violence
Defining violence
At a time when recorded crime suggests that violent crime may be starting to rise
again (Walker et al., 2006), it is timely to consider ways in which we can under-
stand and support the many factors that can inhibit us from going too far along
the continuum of arousal to violence. Unlike other crimes, or offensive behaviours,
certain aspects or levels of violence are tolerated, excused, justified or accepted,
in the home, community and in the workplace. Everybody has their own threshold
of acceptability of verbal, emotional and physical violence and different expec-
tations of others in conflict situations. Within an organization a commonly agreed
threshold of tolerance gives confidence to staff to challenge unacceptable behav-
iour, convey a consistent message and take timely action to reduce violence. The
definition of violence that will help get to this agreed threshold is that accepted
by the prison service:
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228 Probation Journal 54(3)
. . . any incident in which a person is physically, emotionally or psychologically
abused, threatened, or assaulted. This includes an explicit or implicit challenge to
their safety, well-being or health. (The Prison Service, 2004)
Bullying is a particular aspect of violence which can take on many guises. If allowed
to, this can dominate the whole culture of an organization so it is important to
have a common description to which all work. Thus bullying is seen in the prison
service as:
. . . conduct motivated by a desire to hurt, threaten or frighten someone. It can be
physical, verbal, psychological, emotional or economical and involves an imbalance
of power; it is usually repeated behaviour, unprovoked and intended to cause fear
or harm to the victim. (The Prison Service, 2004)
Defining restorative justice
Despite the increased attention given to restorative justice, the concept still remains
somewhat problematic to define as numerous responses to criminal behaviour
may fall under the ‘restorative umbrella’ (Latimer et al., 2001). Although a univer-
sally accepted and concise term has yet to be established there are key elements
that include seeing it as a process whereby:
i) All parties with a stake in a particular conflict or offence come together to
resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of the conflict or offence
and its implications for the future; and
ii) Offenders have the opportunity to acknowledge the impact of what they
have done and to make reparation, and victims have the opportunity to
have their harm acknowledged and amends made (Restorative Justice
Consortium, 2006).
The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has been working longer with the ideas,
and sees it in a wider perspective:
In the face of crime or conflict, restorative justice is a philosophy and approach
that views these matters as principally harm done to people and relationships. It
strives to provide support and safe opportunities for voluntary participation
between those affected (victims, offenders, community) to encourage accountability,
reparation, safety and movement towards understanding, feelings of satisfaction,
healing and closure. (CSC, 2004)
According to Howard Zehr (1990), the restorative justice paradigm begins with
the premise that crime is a violation of people and relationships rather than merely
a violation of law. The most appropriate response to criminal behaviour, there-
fore, is to repair the harm caused by the wrongful act. As such the criminal justice
system should provide those most closely affected by the crime (the victim, the
offender and the community) with an opportunity to come together to discuss the
event and attempt to arrive at some understanding about what can be done to
provide appropriate reparation (Latimer et al., 2001: 2).
Newell ● Face to face with violence and its effects 229
Bazemore and Schiff (2004) provide perhaps the most helpful synthesis of
descriptions that will help the focus on the relationship between restorative processes
and violence. They identify three principles through which restorative justice works:
1 The principle of repair – justice requires that we work to heal victims,
offenders and communities that have been injured by crime;
2 The principle of stakeholder participation – victims, offenders and
communities should have the opportunity for active involvement in the
justice process and to be as fully involved as possible;
3 The principle of transformation in community and government roles and
relationships – the relative roles and responsibilities can be rethought, and
this might be the most challenging aspect of restorative justice. In promoting
justice, government is responsible for preserving a just order, and community
for establishing a just peace.
Restorative justice in custodial settings
Translating some of these ideas into a setting where they can be practically applied
has always been difficult for practitioners. This is particularly so in custodial settings
where the dynamics of control and the needs of the institution can dominate ideas
of meeting personal needs with consideration and compassion. The author’s
experience as a prison governor may provide some insights into the potential of
restorative principles in action. In Grendon Prison the therapeutic experience for
the most serious violent and sexual offenders depends upon opportunities they
take to educate themselves, increasing...
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