Question
Referrals made to restorative justice organisations
To ask the Chief Constable to explain the process that the PSNI uses in relation to referrals made to victims of crime to restorative justice organisations, including:
1. Is there a formal or informal referral process, and if so, what documents or other procedures are available to cover either process?
2. What documentation does the PSNI hold in relation to referrals to restorative justice organisations on particular?
3. What is the intended purpose of referring victims of crime, racist and other hate crime in particular, to restorative justice organisations?
4. How many referrals were made by the PSNI to restorative justice organisations in 2022/2023 and to date in 2023/24? Is there are any categorisation of the type of crimes referred?
5. Additionally, how many hate crime victims broken down by individual types of hate crime were referred to a restorative justice organisation in 2022/2023 and to date in 2023/24 including in particular, how many were referred to:
* Northern Ireland Alternatives
* Community Restorative Justice
* Other organizations (please specify where available).
6. If the information is not available in the form requested in questions 4 and 5 could you provide the nearest equivalent information and consider keeping the more detailed information going forward?
Answer
1. Is there a formal or informal referral process, and if so, what documents or other procedures are available to cover either process?
The original process for the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s use of Restorative Justice is outlined in the ‘Protocol for Community-based Restorative Justice Schemes,’ launched in February 2007. Since the protocol was introduced, two different referral mechanisms have been implemented:
Crime – The Police Service of Northern Ireland will submit a file to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS). The PPS can decide to refer a matter to a Community Based Restorative Justice Scheme. The file is held on the PSNI’s Records Management System (NICHE).
Community Resolution Notice (CRN) – A CRN is an informal non-statutory disposal, used for dealing with less serious crime and anti-social behaviour, where the offender accepts responsibility. The views of the victim, if appropriate, are taken into account in reaching an informal agreement between the parties, which can involve restorative justice techniques, including a referral to a community based restorative justice scheme. The decision to offer a CRN is a matter for police alone. The documentation is held on NICHE and the suspect will receive a paper copy of the notice.
Review of the ‘2007 Protocol’
The Department of Justice published its review, of the 2007 Government Protocol for the use of Restorative Justice, in February 2023. The original Protocol aimed to establish a framework for more formal relationships between the accredited Community Based Restorative Justice organisations and the criminal justice system. The original scheme focused on low level offences.
However, the recent Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland ‘Review of Community Restorative Justice Ireland and its Accredited Schemes,’ published in May 2023, outlines that the original protocol “did not deliver the results intended.”
2. What documentation does the PSNI hold in relation to referrals to restorative justice organisations in particular?
The information is recorded on the Police File referred to the Public Prosecution Service or on the record of the Community Resolution Notice. These are both held on our NICHE Records Management System, but are difficult to search. Work has been carried out, adding a drop down box, to NICHE, to aid the searching of data as part of the proposed process outlined below.
3. What is the intended purpose of referring victims of crime, racist and other hate crime in particular, to restorative justice organisations?
Restorative justice has been described as, ‘any process which enables those harmed by crime, and those responsible for that harm, if they freely consent, to participate actively in the resolution of matters arising from the offence, through the help of a trained and impartial facilitator.’
Where police consider Restorative Justice to be a suitable ‘victim centred’ outcome and the victim and offender both consent to engaging with accredited Community Based Restorative Justice schemes, a referral can be made to ensure that a Criminal Justice Outcome benefits the Victim, the Offender and the wider Community.
Restorative Justice promotes healing, fosters empathy and accountability, as opposed to punishment. It can lead to increased victim satisfaction, reduced recidivism and a more holistic approach to addressing the root causes of wrongdoing.
4. How many referrals were made by the PSNI to restorative justice organisations in 2022/2023 and to date in 2023/24? Is there are any categorisation of the type of crimes referred?
Crime – 42 cases were referred to the Public Prosecution Service by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, between 2009 and March 2022. Of these, only 16 were referred back to the Schemes by the Public Prosecution Service. We are unable to break down the figures into crime types.
Community Resolution Notice (CRN) – In 2021, 21 CRNs were referred to the Schemes. In 2022, 6 CRNs were referred to the Schemes.
Note: Criminal Justice Branch have carried out a review of PSNI’s use of Community Resolution Notices. A paper was submitted to the Criminal Justice Board, in October 2023, recommending the expansion of the relevant offences. This proposed expansion includes an increase in Drug types and volume, in order to better reflect the current drug use and offending in Northern Ireland. The expansion also includes incidents motivated by hate and domestic motivated offences (between intimate or previously intimate partners).
5. Additionally, how many hate crime victims broken down by individual types of hate crime were referred to a restorative justice organisation in 2022/2023 and to date in 2023/24 including in particular, how many were referred to:
* Northern Ireland Alternatives
* Community Restorative Justice
* Other organizations (please specify where available).
As of 7th December 2023, only Northern Ireland Alternatives and Community Restorative Justice Ireland were accredited by the Department of Justice.
Currently there have been zero referrals for hate crime, however work is ongoing to review the remit and thresholds of CRN for use in hate motivated offences.
6. If the information is not available in the form requested in questions 4 and 5 could you provide the nearest equivalent information and consider keeping the more detailed information going forward?
Since the release of the review, in February 2023, of the 2007 Government Protocol for the use of Restorative Justice, PSNI’s Criminal Justice Branch have been working with Criminal Justice Partners to design and deliver a pilot scheme with accredited Community Based Restorative Justice organisations. Criminal Justice Branch have been working with the Public Prosecution Service in order to develop referral pathways relating to criminal and lower level criminal behaviour.
It is proposed that, in the first phase of the pilot, criminal behaviour, which falls within the scope of a Community Resolution Notice, will be considered for Restorative Justice referral, allowing an officially recognised, well governed and accountable policing process to support better outcomes for victims, in line with the original 2007 Protocol. As part of this newly proposed process, offence type and referral numbers, broken down by policing area, will be a key metric for evaluating effectiveness.
Criminal Justice Branch have made significant progress, since the initial meeting with partners in September 2023. In order to deliver the pilot, Criminal Justice Branch have developed a draft Information Sharing Agreement, draft Operational Guidance and a draft information package for local officers, which have been shared with the Department of Justice, the Public Prosecution Service and accredited CBRJ schemes, all for consideration prior to the next meeting in January 2023.
This work, in the delivery of a pilot scheme, will contribute to delivering the recommendations outlined in CJINI’s ‘Review of Community Restorative Justice Ireland and its Accredited Schemes.’
Les Allamby