Restorative Justice Training for Western Jamaica

The administration of the Flanker Peace and Justice Centre, Montego Bay, St. James, will host a three-day training programme for current and potential Restorative Justice (RJ) practitioners from Western Jamaica, between Monday November 21 and Wednesday, November 23. The workshops begin at 9:00 a.m. each day.
The specialised training, which is developed and delivered jointly by the Justice Training Institute (JTI) and the Dispute Resolution Foundation (DRF), is made possible through a US$125,000 contribution from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Mrs. Audrey Sewell, Director/Principal, JTI, explained that day one of the training at the Flanker Peace and Justice Centre is aimed at Members of Parliament or their nominees, Councillors, police and correctional officers, custodies and leaders of non-governmental organisations.
However, “The two-day workshops, on the 22nd and the 23rd, are much more interactive as they seek to enhance the skills of the participants in critical areas such as Circle conferences, Family Group conferences, Victim-Offender Mediation, and communications and listening,” she added.
This three-day workshop in Montego Bay is part of an island-wide initiative coordinated by the Ministry of Justice ,and which got underway in St. Mary on November 9 and continued in Kingston and Spanish Town, St. Catherine.
Some 200 prospective trainees drawn from the church, civil society, the police and correctional service, as well as Justices of the Peace, have been targeted for this intensive training in RJ principles.
A specially arranged seminar on Restorative Justice principles in the criminal and civil jurisdictions is also planned for local Supreme Court judges.