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Learn about our victim offender mediation.
The current project
The aim is to develop the principles of Restorative Justice within a Bristol prison, in partnership with HM Prison and in collaboration with community agencies. When the project is established, we will share learning with other prisons that may want to set up similar projects. The practical objectives of the project are:-
• To work with offenders, promoting the use of Restorative Justice within a prison setting.
• To enable offenders to become aware of the effects of their actions upon their victims, and, where practicable, to seek to make amends
• To provide opportunities for offenders and victims to communicate, if they so wish.
• To share learning about RJ with other interested bodies and individuals.
• To raise public awareness of the potential and usefulness of Restorative Justice work.
• To actively work with the advice and education service, the drug rehabilitation services and the Prolific Offenders scheme at HMP Bristol, and with the Victim Liaison Unit of the Probation Service, in pursuit of the above aims
• To secure continuation funding so that the project can continue past the initial 3 year programme
Bristol Mediation’s Prison Project is an innovative project, developing out of the Restorative Justice pilot project that ran for a year (2003-4) at HMP Bristol. Bristol Mediation has now secured the next three years’ funding, and appointed a Restorative Justice Co-ordinator (based in the Prolific Offenders Unit in the prison) in September 2007. We are currently seeking three sessional workers to provide up to 12 hours week working with victims in the community, groupwork in the prison and other developments in the restorative justice programme.
This earlier project focused mainly on awareness-raising workshops for offenders, and on bringing together victims and offenders in contexts where the latter could be helped to recognise the effects of their offending.
No incentives for involvement were offered to prisoners, or penalties for non-participation in Restorative Justice activities at HMP Bristol during the running of the pilot project in 2003-4. There was, however a 90% uptake from offenders told about the scheme.
Offenders and crime victims alike have described positive outcomes *:-
“Helped me with my own thoughts about going straight.”
“It’s opened my eyes and I don’t want to rob anymore.”
“I have never had an opportunity to help someone before.”
100 % of victims involved [with the Restorative Justice Project] reported extremely high levels of satisfaction with their involvement. All of them would recommend the project to other victims.
* From Final Report of the RJP at HMP Bristol, 2003-4 (available electronically on request)
The Restorative Justice Project in Bristol has been able to contribute directly to the Government’s consultation process on Restorative Justice.
Previous track record:
In the course of a single year the Restorative Justice Project based at HMP Bristol had contact with a total of over 130 male offenders in one year. This included assessments, group work, and one-to-one contacts.
Support from other organisations:
RJP in Bristol attracted nationwide interest from professionals in the field. Information about the Bristol pilot project has been requested from, among others, the Home Office, Prison Service HQ, governors at other prisons, magistrates, national Victim Support, and academics.
The role of the Restorative Justice Sessional workers is:
• To support victims of specific offence categories (burglary, robbery, and offences of violence) to consider the possibilities of Restorative Justice processes, and support their choice.
• To support the restorative justice groupwork activities; including Victim-Offender meetings.
• To provide additional support for the developments in the restorative justice programme.