Men As Peacemakers

Examples

Although restorative justice is less than 20 years old, its influence has spread around the world at a remarkable speed. We can track international development in two basic categories:

• Innovation by countries in their use of restorative justice
• Integration by countries of restorative ideas into their justice systems

Innovation

• Indigenous or customary practices are being adapted for use in the criminal justice system. Examples of this include conferencing and circles.
• Victim-offender encounters are taking place inside prisons in Europe and North America. In some instances this involves victims meeting with their offenders in a kind of "post sentencing mediation;" it is even used in this way on death row in Texas. In other instances the meetings involve groups of unrelated victims and offenders. These "surrogate" encounters may be used because the actual victim or offender is unknown or unavailable, or as a preparatory step toward a meeting of the person with the actual victim or offender.
• "Circles of Support" in Canada work with serious sexual offenders (often guilty of paedophilia) released into fearful communities at the conclusion of their sentences. The program increases safety of the public by establishing a reintegration plan with the offender, by regularly monitoring the behaviour of the offender, and by ensuring that community resources needed by the offender are made available. It ensures the safety of the offender by offering a forum for community members to voice their concerns, by intervening with community members when necessary, and by working with the police and other authorities to provide protection and services as needed.
• Unique prison regimes have developed in Latin America and elsewhere in which prisoners volunteer to stay at facilities run largely by volunteers and the prisoners. The regimes establish a particular spiritual or cultural ethos that involves learning through example and apprenticeship.
• Victim-offender-community meetings are being done at many phases of the justice process. They are run by police prior to charge, by probation officers and on occasion by parole officers in Canada. This is in addition to the rich tradition of NGO provision of community-based victim-offender-community meetings.
• Restorative processes are being used to address conflict between citizens and the government. Examples include the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa and the Treaty of Waitangi Commission in New Zealand.

Integration

• Legislative action has reduced legal or systemic barriers to the use of restorative programs, created legal inducements for using restorative programs, guided and structured restorative programs, and protected the rights of offenders and victims.
• Funding and staff for programs is expanding. Belgium, for example, has adopted a "Global Plan" to fight unemployment and to change certain aspects of criminal justice. Municipalities receive funding for program staff if they agree to help carry out certain penal sanctions and measures such as policed-based mediation.
• Jurisdiction-wide planning is incorporating restorative principles in a systemic framework. This has been done at the state and provincial level, and on a national level in some countries. The purpose of the exercise is to involve criminal justice professionals and members of the community in a process thatleads to a plan for implementation and expansion of restorative approaches.
• The number of restorative programs is growing. There are more than 500 mediation programs and projects in Europe, and over 300 in the US. A Canadian survey of restorative programs and projects in that country resulted in over 100 listings.
• Intergovernmental bodies are taking note of restorative justice. In 1999 the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a recommendation on the use of mediation in penal matters. The UN's International Handbook on Justice for Victims notes that "the framework for restorative justice involves the offender, the victim, and the entire community in efforts to create a balanced approach that is offender-directed and, at the same time, victim-centered. Victim compensation has become a key feature of restorative justice in many developed countries."