Norfolk could become first fully 'restorative community' in the UK (Norfolk County Council Liberal Democrats)

Norfolk County Council Liberal Democrats <info@norfolkcclibdems.org.uk>

Norfolk could become first fully 'restorative community' in the UK

September 13, 2008 12:00 AM

Plans to see Norfolk become a national pioneer for a new approach to conflict resolution and low-level crime could become reality next week if a proposal to make Norfolk a 'restorative county' is agreed.

Restorative approaches aim to bring together victims and offenders, where they are willing, so that each party can understand why an incident has occurred, what harm was caused in the process to the other party and what actions will be needed to make things right.

Organisations in Norfolk including the Police, the Youth Offending Team and a number of Norfolk schools are already successfully using restorative approaches to address antisocial behaviour and breakdowns in community relationships and their pioneering multi-agency work has begun to attract international interest, with representatives being invited to speak at world restorative conferences.

Now leaders at Norfolk County Council are to be asked to agree that restorative approaches should be adopted across an array of additional public services in Norfolk. If they do so, Norfolk may be the first part of the country to achieve full multi-agency sign-up to a common restorative justice policy.

Cllr Brian Hannah, who is Lib Dem spokesperson on Norfolk Police Authority, will ask decision-makers at Norfolk County Council next week to commit fully to the concept of restorative approaches and to seek every opportunity to embed their appropriate use in the work of the Council and its partners.

New proposals to be presented to the Council's Cabinet on Monday suggest that restorative approaches could be used to tackle community breakdowns and that a new team of restorative approaches specialists could help to tackle low-level criminal activity and antisocial behaviour across Norfolk. The proposals also indicate that the approaches could be used to increase the level of genuine discussion that happens when public complaints are received, as well as improve the way that staff disciplinaries and grievances are handled.

Mr Hannah says:

"Norfolk is already making great strides in adopting restorative approaches and I have seen for myself how using these techniques can have an amazing impact on how people relate to each other. Research has shown that restorative approaches are able to function more successfully if all associated local bodies take a decision to integrate restorative principles and practices throughout their services and management structures. I very much hope, therefore, that Norfolk County Council's Cabinet seizes this opportunity to look at how it can harness the benefits of restorative justice in all of the services the Council provides.

"I would like to see restorative approaches used to complement existing punitive approaches across all Norfolk councils. But as a first step I hope to get Norfolk County Council fully on board."