Northern Ireland Office

Minister of State Paul Goggins MP today announced that he had accredited a further 10 Community-based Restorative Justice Schemes which have attained the standards required under the Government Protocol

He said“ I am pleased to announce these further accreditations.  The Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice has carried out two inspections in relation to Community Restorative Justice (Ireland) schemes and has concluded that they now meet the required standards and have demonstrated their commitment to fully operate within the Protocol.

“I am aware that historically there have been some concerns about the development of restorative justice schemes in both nationalist and loyalist communities. That is why we spent some considerable time developing a rigorous Protocol to establish working relationships with statutory agencies.  In particular we have underlined the pivotal role for the police and provided stringent safeguards to protect the rights of both victims and offenders.

“I have carefully examined all the relevant information on these schemes and share the view expressed by the Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice that there is no cause for concern in the way that Community Restorative Justice (Ireland) schemes now operate.”

“I believe that community-based restorative justice schemes can have a full role to play in helping to resolve the sort of low level crime that causes tensions and difficulties in many local communities."”

The schemes being accredited today are;

CRJI Central Office, Belfast

CRJI Colin, Belfast

CRJIFalls, Belfast

CRJI Greater Andersonstown, Belfast

CRJI Upper Springfield, Belfast

CRJI Head Office, Derry

CRJI Ballymagroarty, Derry

CRJI Brandywell, Derry

CRJI Creggan, Derry

CRJI Shantallow, Derry

Notes to Editors

1. View the register of accredited schemes. This will be subsequently updated as and when other schemes attain the necessary accreditation.  Accredited schemes can apply for funding.

2. The Protocol for Community-Based Restorative Justice Schemes was published on 5 February 2007 following two periods of public consultation and an investigation by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.

3. Accreditation of CBRJ schemes, under the terms of the Protocol, is a three stage process. Schemes must first be the subject of a pre-accreditation inspection by the Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice (CJINI) and secondly a Suitability Panel must determine the suitability of individuals to work on activities governed by the Protocol.

4. The Protocol for Community-based Restorative Justice Schemes contains a number of important safeguards which include:

• The Protocol requires that schemes engage, and have a direct relationship, with police on all matters governed by the Protocol. The centrality of the police to the way in which schemes operate is non-negotiable.
• All individuals working on activities governed by the Protocol must have a determination of suitability from a Suitability Panel working in accordance with published criteria set out in the Protocol. The Suitability Panel is chaired by a representative of the Community Relations Council with other members drawn from the Probation Board for Northern Ireland and the Youth Justice Agency.
• An independent complaints mechanism will be available for victims and offenders who may have cause to raise concerns about how a scheme has handled their case.
• The Protocol sets exacting standards which schemes must meet to achieve accreditation, with continued compliance tested by a rigorous, regular and unannounced inspection regime undertaken by the Criminal Justice Inspectorate who shall publish their inspection reports.
• The Protocol establishes the relationship between schemes and the criminal justice system in dealing with low-level criminal offences and offenders and, by definition, governs cases which have both achieved the criminal threshold and been deemed suitable by the Public Prosecution Service for referral for a restorative disposal. 

5.The Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Public Prosecution Service have been working with schemes in the lead-up to accreditation to set in place the necessary referral arrangements to support the implementation of the Protocol. This paves the way for accredited schemes to identify the first cases to statutory agencies for consideration of referral under the terms of the Protocol.