This is a blog by Why me? CEO, Sara Dowling.
This week, Why me? received further communication from ReHub (HMPPS’ Restorative Practice Hub) as part of their internal review. The update focused on the implementation of the new policy, which will introduce a ‘presumption of unsuitability’ of Restorative Justice for certain types of crimes. The letter confirms that the revised policy will:
- establish a presumption of unsuitability for certain types of offending, such as domestic abuse and coercive control, sexual abuse against children, rape, the murder of young children,
- allow for exceptional circumstances for such types of offending where restorative justice may still be appropriate, and
- ensure clarity from the outset so victims are not left with false expectations.’
They have outlined which crime types will be included in the presumption and what falls under exceptional circumstances. The certain categories and factors of cases presumed unsuitable are:
- sexual violence or abuse (MAPPA eligible offences)
- domestic abuse or intimate partner violence
- victim is a child and where the offender is an adult
- hate or extremism (TACT)
- a homicide offence
- organised crime group
- where the prisoner is categorised as Category A
They say: ‘For the purposes of decision-making, exceptional circumstances are defined as situations where there is a clear and evidenced justification to depart from the general presumption. As we implement the revised approach and build a body of case-based decisions, we will continue to develop and share further information and guidance on how exceptional circumstances are defined and applied in practice.’
They’ve also confirmed that following ministerial agreement, the policy amendments will come into effect from Monday 1st June 2026 and will apply to all cases currently under consideration.
Why me? has already set out our concerns about the new policy amendments. While we recognise the need for a more robust, consistent and trusted framework for managing complex cases, we believe this should be informed by experienced practitioners and must not unintentionally narrow opportunities before cases have been properly explored. It is our view that the current wording around a “presumption of unsuitability” based on offence types is deeply problematic, represents a backwards step for the sector and will create more barriers for people trying to access Restorative Justice. You can read more about Why me?’s response to this here.
Despite the policy coming into effect, it is also unclear at this stage how the exceptional circumstances will be decided, with the detail around this yet to be decided. This lack of clarity and uncertainty is problematic because it leaves practitioners, victims and services without any understanding of how or when the presumption of unsuitability might be overturned. Decisions risk becoming inconsistent, overly restrictive or influenced by subjective interpretation. In practice, this could mean that people who might benefit from Restorative Justice are excluded simply because the system has not yet articulated how exceptions should work.
We know we are not alone and that there is widespread concern about these policy changes across the Restorative Justice sector. Thank you to everyone who attended our Forum last week and for everyone’s considered and constructive contributions. Many of you shared compelling insights from practice, raised important questions about the implications for victims and offered clear examples of why a presumption of unsuitability risks undermining the very principles Restorative Justice is built on. We are in the process of collating everyone’s feedback including the themes, concerns and recommendations raised and will be sharing a full summary in due course.
ReHub will be running further stakeholder engagement sessions to discuss the findings of the review and the actions that are being taken forward. Why me? will be attending, sharing feedback from our Forum and advocating to ensure access to Restorative Justice remains possible for all victims who want it, whatever the crime.
