Restorative Justice in Northern Ireland—a web bibliography

In general

Schrag, Libby (2003). Restorative Justice in Northern Ireland: An Outsider’s Perspective Paper presented at the 6th International Conference On Restorative Justice. Vanucouver, British Columbia. June 1-4, 2003. Downloaded 17 September 2003.

Restorative justice in Northern Ireland is flourishing at the moment. This paper describes some of the recent initiatives that have developed in the country, and then explores particular issues facing the field in a post-conflict society. Among the topics addressed are where restorative justice is best placed within society, how divergent schemes might interact with one another, and the balance of leading versus following community momentum. The snapshot provided is by an American who has been living in Northern Ireland for less than two years, and may not fully represent the range of opinions held by practitioners and advocates of restorative justice in the country.

Community-based restorative justice

Drummond, Billy (2004). Creating Alternatives in Northern Ireland Restorative Justice Online. August 2004 Edition.

Haunted by a history of violence, Northern Ireland communities have increasingly explored restorative responses to crime as an alternative to punishment violence used by paramilitary groups. In 1998, Greater Shankill Alternatives (Alternatives) was created to help young offenders learn the impact of their behaviour on themselves, their victims, and their community.

Gormally, Brian (2005). Community Restorative Justice -- a new bridge between state and people? Paper presented at the Police Service of Northern Ireland Conference on Human Rights and Restorative Justice, Belfast, 1 March.

In Northern Ireland, then, community restorative justice projects have been an important part of the peace process. They have reduced the incidence of punishment violence, they have engaged ex-combatants in peaceful community activism, they have engaged thousands of people in practising justice in their neighbourhoods, they have reduced anti-social crime and they have spread the radical principles of restorative justice. They are now poised, assuming goodwill on all sides, to form, necessarily gradually and incrementally, a partnership with the statutory criminal justice system that will fully express the new social contract that must be the result of a genuine peace process. Is the Northern Ireland Office prepared to abandon its obstructive position and show the necessary goodwill? (Excerpt)

McEvoy, Kieran and Mika, Harry (2002). Restorative Justice and the Critique of Informalism in Northern Ireland British Journal of Criminology 42:534-562.

This article examines the development of community-based restorative justice in the context of the Northern Ireland peace process. In tandem with the political changes introduced as a result of the Good Friday Agreement, and the reforms of policing and the criminal justice system which occurred as a result of that accord, this article charts the parallel attempts to use community-based restorative justice programmes as alternatives to paramilitary punishment violence. In analysing the controversy surrounding such projects, the authors argue that the traditional critiques of informal justice have been revisited and revitalized in the ongoing political struggles involving restorative justice in the jurisdiction. These critiques are: the supposedly sinister nature of community-based restorative justice, the idealization of ‘community’ in such projects as essentially consensual and harmonious, the critique of such projects as a technical and evaluative failure and finally the claim that such projects are impossible. The authors argue that the Northern Ireland experience suggests grounds for a rejection of the cynicism of ‘nothing works’ and argue that the transition to peace lays down moral imperatives including the search for justice practice that ameliorates the violence of the past.

Smyth, Marie and Hamilton, Jennifer and Thomson, Kirsten (2002). Creggan Community Restorative Justice: An Evaluation and Suggested Way Forward Institute for Conflict Research in association with St. Columb's Park House.

This document represents the findings of a research project begun in February 2001 to evaluate the Creggan Community Restorative Justice project ((Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland). St. Columb’s Park House (SCPH) approached the Institute for Conflict Research (ICR) to conduct the research using participative action research (PAR) methods. In PAR the community under study actively participates with the researcher throughout the research process from the design to the presentation of the findings. This evaluation involved meetings between ICR, SCPH, and a group of young adolescent males to discuss the research, to assist in design of a questionnaire to assess the views and opinions of other young people in the community of the Community Restorative Justice scheme, and to participate in a focus group discussion. Another questionnaire was provided to teachers within the school to ascertain their views, and individual interviews with relevant adults were also conducted. This research report consists of the following: the structure and operation of the Community Restorative Justice scheme; young people’s perspectives; volunteers’ perspectives; local community leaders’ perspectives; victims’ perspectives; and recommendations by ICR for the Creggan Community Restorative Justice project.

Formal Justice System

Beckett, Helen and O'Mahony, David and Doak, Jonathan and Campbell, Catriona and Jackson, John (2004). Interim Evaluation of the Northern Ireland Youth Conferencing Scheme Research and Statistical Bulletin 1/2005. Belfast: Northern Ireland Office, Statistics and Research Branch. Downloaded 7 March 2005.

This bulletin presents the interim findings of an evaluation of the recently introduced Northern Ireland youth conferencing initiative. The findings are based on research conducted by the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Queen's University, Belfast and focus on the functioning of the scheme in the early months of its operation, from its inception on the 1st December 2003 until the 31st August 2004. (excerpt)

O'Mahony, David and Campbell, Catriona (2004). Mainstreaming Restorative Justice for Young Offenders through Youth Conferencing - the experience of Northern Ireland European Society of Criminology. Downloaded 25 February 2005.
 
The youth justice system in Northern Ireland is quite distinct and different to that in the rest of the United Kingdom or Ireland. It has also evolved considerably in the past ten to fifteen years and there have been very significant changes to its whole philosophy and operation as recently as 2003, with the introduction of a Youth Conferencing Service. The Conferencing Service now deals with young offenders using an approach based around the principles of restorative justice and the very process and structure of the system has changed to incorporate this new approach (detailed below). This paper looks at crime and how the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland deals with young people who have offended. It examines what is known about youth offending in general and looks specifically at a number of innovative approaches to criminal justice practice. The police response to youth offending is examined and their specialist teams of officers who deal with young offenders. The courts and sentencing are then looked at with attention being placed on the new arrangements for holding children in custody. The range of measures introduced following the Criminal Justice Review are then examined, and specifically the youth conferencing arrangements, which adopt a restorative justice model to deal with young offenders. The paper draws to a close with a critical overview of the major changes in our system of youth justice and the possible lessons that can be learnt from an international perspective. (excerpt)

O'Mahony, David and Chapman, Tim and Doak, Jonathan (2002). Restorative cautioning: A study of police based restorative cautioning pilots in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Office Research & Statistical Series: Report No. 4. Belfast: Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency.

This report describes a study of two pilot restorative cautioning schemes run by police in Ballymena and in Mountpottinger, Belfast, Northern Ireland. The study covers a period from mid 1999 to mid 2001. At the time covered by the study, the police were using two types of restorative approaches to deal with offending juveniles. One, called a restorative conference, directly involved the victim. The other, called a restorative cautioning, did not directly involve the victim. Currently, whether or not the victim is directly involved, the police do not distinguish these practices but refer only to “restorative cautioning. The schemes in Ballymena and Mountpottinger differed in this respect: the scheme in Ballymena dealt mostly with shoplifting cases, whereas the scheme in Mountpottinger was an alternative for cases deemed suitable for formal cautioning. In their report, the authors review research and literature on restorative justice and police-led restorative schemes. They also review previous Juvenile Liaison referrals and outcomes. This leads to evaluation of the impact of restorative sessions on all participants prior to the actual research period, and evaluation of restorative sessions observed during the research period. The authors conclude their report with a summary of their main findings, a bibliography, and a list of other relevant publications.

Probation Board for Northern Ireland (2005). Policy on Restorative Justice -- Draft 2. Probation Board for Northern Ireland. March 25. Downloaded 14 November 2005.

This policy document from the Probation Board of Northern Ireland states that its aim is ‘To make an effective contribution to the development of Restorative Justice Practices at all appropriate stages in the Criminal Justice process.’

Wright, Steven (2002). Youth conferencing --implementation of a statutory system of restorative justice in Northern Ireland Paper presented at the 2nd International Association of Prosecutors European Regional Conference, held at The Hague, 20-22 March

At the time of this paper, the following options were available to the Youth Court in Northern Ireland against youth who either pled guilty or were found guilty of an offense: youth offenders’ center order (ages 16-21); juvenile justice center order (ages 14-17); custody/probation order; suspended sentence; community service and probation orders; attendance center order; fines, or discharge (either conditional or absolute). The 1998 Belfast Good Friday Agreement led to a systemic review of criminal justice in Northern Ireland, and that led to a recommendation that restorative and reparative justice should become a central part of the criminal process for juveniles. In this context, Stephen Wright discusses the idea of restorative justice. Then he describes the envisioned principles and practice of youth conferencing in Northern Ireland as a major way to implement restorative justice in the juvenile justice system.

Transitional Justice

Gormally, Brian (2005). Justice and the Aftermath of Conflict Paper presented at the Symposium on Restorative Justice and Peace in Colombia, Cali, 9-12 February.

The aftermath of conflict leaves a range of legal and political issues to be resolved that relate to justice. It appears to be common ground amongst many of those with practical experience and theoretical knowledge about peace processes and international law that some “just closure is necessary before a conflict can be regarded as finally over. In this context, “justice also tends to imply “truth, that is a full disclosure of all the “crimes committed by combatants during the conflict. This idea is summed up in the phrase: “Before a new leaf can be turned, the old leaf must be read… Unfortunately, there is no consensus, at least in Northern Ireland, on the character of the justice or the truth that may be appropriate to close the conflict. The fundamental problem is that there is no agreed legal interpretation of the nature of the conflict. Furthermore, in so far as the conflict was waged by the State within a certain legal framework, it is inconsistent with the reconciliatory measures appropriate to a peace process. We will elaborate on these points. (excerpt)

April 2006