Stakeholders Urged to Use Restorative Justice Centres to Resolve Disputes

Justice sector stakeholders are being encouraged to refer more cases of disputes to restorative justice centres for amicable resolution.

Justice Minister, Hon. Delroy Chuck, who made the call, also invited persons to refer matters to the Ministry for interventions.

“We are asking for your help to identify communities and business places [and] to contact the Ministry of Justice [so that] we can get a restorative justice facilitator to come and talk about the practice,” he revealed.

Mr. Chuck, who was addressing the 14th annual semi-virtual restorative justice conference at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston recently, said referrals are important in identifying conflict early before these escalate to more serious matters.

“Jamaica can be a peaceful place. The disputes… the conflicts that emerge can be settled; and what we have done with restorative justice is to provide a mechanism for persons to really get help. They don’t have to fight it out. They don’t have to use violence, abuse, [or] oppression to get others to comply,” he emphasised.

Noting the collaborative nature of restorative justice, Minister Chuck said it facilitates peaceful discourse between the perpetrator and victim of crime to come to amicable resolution.

“What is important is, they must know [that] in a dispute, it can only lead to further aggravated abuses and violence. So what we are trying to do with restorative justice is to get parties in dispute to really come to the restorative justice centres or report it to us[Ministry] so we can get a facilitator to assist,” he stated.

The Restorative Justice Programme is one of the Ministry’s flagship interventions, which brings all the parties with a stake in a particular incident together, to resolve the conflict and deal with the aftermath.

It is designed to reduce incidents of conflict and crime and restore peace and harmonious coexistence among families, colleagues, friends, and communities.

Restorative Justice addresses post-traumatic stress among victims, reduces feelings of revenge or reprisal compared to traditional methods, and reduces recidivism for a variety of offences.

The majority of cases dealt with at restorative justice centres are referrals from the courts. These also come through schools, communities, and the police.

Facilitators guide the process of having the parties involved come together to discuss the issues and focus on common concerns, and agree on the most amicable solution that promotes the mending of relationships and provides reconciliation.

There are now more than 300 trained restorative justice facilitators and 20 centres islandwide, with more facilities to be established in the future.