Breaking the Cycle: The Government’s response published

….Turning specifically to restorative justice, the Government’s response says:

“Many victims say the best way harm can be repaired is through participation in restorative justice. We are proposing using restorative justice interventions at each stage of the justice system. Most responses to the consultation welcomed our emphasis on greater use of restorative justice as long as it is used appropriately, interventions are of sufficiently high quality and there are sufficient safeguards in place for victims. 

We will work with the Home Office to develop a framework that supports local practitioners to develop and deliver effective, best practice restorative justice approaches at all stages of the criminal justice system. We will also continue to develop the evidence base for, and practice of restorative justice including by: 

• improving its use in community resolution as part of responses to better tackle low-level crime; 
• encouraging its use as part of or in addition to out-of-court disposals; 
• formally embedding the role of victims in restorative justice at each stage of the process; 
• improving the advice sentencers receive about pre-sentence restorative justice practices and how they take restorative justice into consideration in court, including through pre-sentence reports and Victim Personal Statements; 
• establishing guidance and minimum standards for youth offending teams, probation and prisons for undertaking more and better restorative justice practices, both pre- and post-sentence; and 
• seeking to make the referral order a more restorative disposal for young offenders by increasing the training that is given to referral order panel members, removing the current restrictions on the repeated use of the order and allowing courts greater flexibility to give a young person who is in court for the first time, and pleads guilty, a conditional discharge as an alternative to a referral order.” 

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