Restorative Justice Programme Strengthened

The Government is providing $75 million this fiscal year for the strengthening of restorative justice services under the Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP) II.

As contained in the 2013/14 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, the money will go towards the retrofitting and refurbishing of three centres and the training of 2,500 agents in the delivery of restorative justice services.

It will also provide for practical training for 75 facilitators in pilot communities; the implementation of case management software and monitoring system; and conducting 48 sensitisation workshops for community and national stakeholders.

Up to March this year, the National Restorative Justice Policy was approved and tabled in Parliament; the programme was expanded to 10 communities; and 214 community sensitisation workshops staged.

In addition, 80 persons were trained in case management; a public awareness campaign implemented; while 35 workshops were held for stakeholders such as Justices of the Peace (JPs), members of the Jamaican Bar Association; and five restorative justice centres were refurbished.

CSJP II, which aims to promote a culture of lawfulness through the provision of targeted violence-prevention and restorative justice services, is being implemented by the Ministry of Justice.

The project, which is being funded by the Department for International Development and the Inter-American Development Bank, started in December 2009, and is expected to end in September 2014.

By Chris Patterson, JIS Reporter