This is a blog by our CEO Sara Dowling.
Victims of crime are entitled to the right to be given information about Restorative Justice under the Victims’ Code of Practice. However, the vast majority of victims of crime never even find out that it is an option available to them. We want to change this.
The Ministry of Justice is running a consultation on the current Victims’ Code of Practice, and how it could be adapted to meet victims’ needs more effectively. This is a unique and crucial opportunity for us to strengthen access to Restorative Justice by ensuring that the rights in the Code are clear, robust and enforceable.
Thank you to everyone who attended our consultation event in March and shared their views on how the Code could better support victims to access Restorative Justice. Why me? has submitted your feedback to the Ministry of Justice. We also held a dedicated roundtable with our Lived Experience Ambassadors and their insights were also shared directly with the MoJ.
Now it’s your turn to have your say. We urge everyone in the Restorative Justice sector to share your views and submit a response to the consultation. Your voice will help strengthen the case for improved rights for victims of crime to access Restorative Justice.
The deadline to share your views on the consultation is 11.59 Thursday 30th April. You can submit your response via this link or by email to victims.code@justice.gov.uk.
What are we calling for?
If you’d like some guidance on what to call for, please feel free to share any of the points below:
- Restorative Justice should be recognised as a distinct and separate right within the Code, to ensure that victims are clearly informed about all the justice pathways available to them. Although Restorative Justice can have supportive benefits, its primary purpose is to deliver meaningful justice by giving victims a voice and the opportunity to address the harm done to them. Including it within ‘victim support services’ diminishes its role in the justice process and risks it being overlooked entirely. By highlighting Restorative Justice in its own dedicated section, the Code would help ensure that this underused but powerful justice option is visible, accessible and understood by victims, empowering them to confidently exercise their rights. The proposed new A5 leaflet about the Code needs to mention Restorative Justice, currently it does not.
- Information should be given in a variety of accessible formats, including through face to face conversations, leaflets, in written correspondence and via digital resources. When someone is in a state of trauma, information can be difficult to absorb, or it can easily become lost among the volume of material that is given to victims. Offering information in multiple formats enables agencies to respond to victims’ individual needs in a victim‑centred and trauma‑informed approach.
- Information about Restorative Justice should be given at multiple points throughout the process and by multiple agencies. It cannot be a one time offer as people may be in too much of a state of trauma to understand the offer and the needs of victims of crime change over time. The proposed change to make it at the point of initial reporting and again post-conviction is a step forward, but it doesn’t go far enough. In addition to these two occasions and the information shared by police, information about Restorative Justice should also be given to victims of crime by the British Transport Police; the Crown Prosecution Service in any case updates, in any interactions with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service; via the Courts and Tribunals service, including any victim/witness support services; Youth Offending Teams and by commissioned victim service providers. The Code should be clear that all of the services which victims have contact with have a joint responsibility to ensure that victims have received their entitlements regarding Restorative Justice. This takes the burden away from just the police, who may not be the most appropriate people to raise Restorative Justice in every case.
- As well as the right to be given information about Restorative Justice, victims of crime need to have an explicit ‘right to be referred to a Restorative Justice service’ in the Code. Just as the right to be referred to a support service does not oblige anyone to take up that support, a referral to Restorative Justice does not mean that every victim will go through the process. Participation will only proceed if trained facilitators assess that it is safe and appropriate. However, establishing a clear right to referral ensures that every victim has the opportunity to speak with a qualified professional, explore the options available to them and make an informed choice in line with their needs and wishes. Crucially, no victim is ever compelled to participate in Restorative Justice, but without a guaranteed referral, many may never realise it is an option at all.
- It is crucial that compliance with the Code is monitored and enforced. If victims’ rights are not being met, there needs to be a clear and accessible pathway they can follow to make a complaint. Professionals need to be held accountable for delivering the rights under the Code, with KPIs to measure success.
- It is vital that criminal justice professionals are equipped to sensitively and accurately give victims of crime information about Restorative Justice. This can be achieved through training about Restorative Justice, how to make the offer to people affected by crime and how it can help access justice.
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