Restorative Justice Helping to Minimise Reprisals

Inspector of Police, Rochelle McGibbon Scott, is hailing restorative justice as a useful tool in helping to minimise reprisals when a crime is committed.

An alternative dispute resolution method, restorative justice works to mend relationships broken by conflict, using a series of conferences involving victims, the accused and, at times, community members.

It focuses on holding the offender accountable in a more meaningful way.

The objective is to repair the harm caused by the offence, help to reintegrate the offender into the community and achieve a sense of healing for both the victim and the community.

Inspector McGibbon Scott said that reprisals or acts of retaliation after a crime has been committed are often a response by persons who feel that the wheels of justice turn too slowly.

“Sometimes, for victims, they are not satisfied that the police or the judicial system is doing enough to expedite the matter, and this is where restorative justice comes in,” she noted.

“So when we have, for instance, a case of unlawful wounding or assault occasioning bodily harm, where someone would have inflicted a wound on someone and we do the referral, the restorative justice process would ensure that [the conflict does not escalate],” McGibbon Scott said.

She was speaking during the Ministry of Justice’s virtual restorative justice seminar on Thursday (February 4), under the theme ‘Working together for healing and restoration’.                                            During her presentation, Inspector McGibbon Scott said that the use of the alternative dispute resolution method has also bolstered the police’s general crime-prevention efforts.

She said that there are strong elements of community involvement in the process, noting that the restorative justice facilitators visit the communities and invite persons from the community space to the victim/offender conferences.

“These persons would assist in the process of bringing about some understanding as to why the conflict happened, who erred, and out of that, somebody would accept responsibility,” she outlined.

After the conference, members from the restorative justice team maintain contact with persons involved in the conflict over a six-month period to follow up on their progress.

“So that would assist us to minimise reprisals. So yes, a crime was committed but because restorative justice was on it and they are having conferences with these persons and they are doing their follow-up, and the police as well, then victims would feel comfortable to say that ‘I feel like something is being done’,” she pointed out.

“Most times, that is what persons want. They just want to ensure that something is being done, be it from restorative justice or by the police. So we do have that intervention, that community component where we do go out with the restorative justice facilitators and the community liaison officers and we would continue to ensure that we raise awareness,” Inspector McGibbon Scott said.

The virtual seminar was part of activities for Restorative Justice Week 2021 from February 1 to 5. The event brought key stakeholders involved in the restorative justice process together to discuss how the method has added value to their work.