Restorative justice: policy and practice framework
Guidance on the practice of restorative justice (RJ) in Scotland in relation to adults and children. It sets out minimum standards and expectations against which RJ practice can be benchmarked, monitored and evaluated to ensure consistent delivery in line with RJ principles.
10. Restorative justice and unreported crime
10.1 It is important that RJ can be accessed by people who do not wish to report a crime to the police but wish to address harm they have experienced. Those who cause harm may also wish to access RJ. For children, RJ which can be accessed outside of the Children’s Hearing or criminal justice system reduces unnecessary contact with the system and allows them to work with services to address harm caused and access support. For adults, it may offer a response to harm for those who do not wish to go through the criminal justice process or where a case will not proceed in this manner, but unanswered questions remain and there is a need to find meaningful, personal justice.
10.2 In cases of RJ where an offence is unreported the same processes set out in Section 3 will be followed by the RJ service and trained facilitator in relation to referral, process, risks, strengths and mitigation practices and aftercare. Aftercare and referrals to support services are important in such cases as this may be an individual’s only route to access such services, so time should be taken to discuss this in detail and referral pathways established with partner agencies.
10.3 In some instances, a crime may be reported to the police after an RJ process has been completed. All parties to RJ in unreported crime must be aware that where this occurs, police and prosecutors will carefully consider any admissions of harm made during the RJ process, and any statements made by those harmed within the same process. RJ facilitators and/or any individual involved in the RJ process may also need to take part in any resulting criminal justice process as a witness.
10.4 Should a facilitator become aware of any child and/or adult protection concern, the facilitator should contact Police Scotland and the relevant local authority. The call handler will require as much information as possible about the identity of the individual and the nature of the concern, prior to identifying the most appropriate response. Support should still be available from services if either party (person harmed or person responsible) wants it, if the conclusion of the risk assessment is to stop the RJ process.
Contact
Email: restorative.justice@gov.scot