Restorative Practice Resources Tagged With: New Zealand

'Mr Gordon Ramsay MLA, will learn and share experiences with New Zealand counterparts as he continues the push to establish Canberra as a restorative city and gathers insights from Rotorua’s Dementia-Friendly city initiative.'

'ABSTRACT Restorative justice is regarded in modern criminal justice systems as one approach to address inadequacies in the conventional justice model. New Zealand has become a leader in implementing legislatively mandated restorative procedures. This reputation is due in part to a handful of supportive statutes: the Sentencing Act 2002, the Victims’ Rights Act 2002, the Parole Act 2002, the Corrections Act 2004 and subsequent amendments to those acts. In this article, I evaluate the practices bolstered by these acts and how effectively they operate, accounting for how legislative design may contribute to achievements and shortcomings in New Zealand's restorative justice programmes. I supplement the results by comparing New Zealand's efforts to those in Vermont, a U.S. state similarly well-regarded for its restorative policies. The evaluation of each jurisdiction's restorative justice programme is based on metrics for restorative success from Bazemore and Schiff (2005. Juvenile justice reform and restorative justice: building theory and policy from practice. Cullompton: Willan Publishing). I employ qualitative and quantitative data, surveying existing evaluations of restorative justice in New Zealand and Vermont, collecting longitudinal statistics, and conducting interviews with restorative justice practitioners. Overall, this analysis reveals that the design of restorative justice programmes requires negotiation; it is difficult to balance the dimensions of effective restorative justice with the needs of modern justice systems.'

'He tries to remind society that we are called to "stand in awe of what these people have to carry, instead of judgment in how they carry it". His world view grates against the ongoing commentary about gangs, whether in the US, New Zealand, or pretty much anywhere. Just in the past month, Simon Bridges blamed Labour for being soft on crime, which he claimed led to an increase in gangs who "peddle misery". He later walked back his comments by saying he believed in "redemption", but there still needed to be a crackdown on criminals. '

'Discover the historical and theoretical development of restorative justice in several countries including Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In addition, in this course you will critically assess contemporary research on restorative justice to determine the extent to which restorative justice processes have a positive impact on participants and how to improve current practices.'

'In a Catholic response to crime, the first step is to see as persons both those who commit the crime and those hurt by it, each with a unique value, and to see the crime as a sign of broken relationships leading to a lack of due respect and a lack of connection to society on the part of the perpetrator. The challenge is to encourage the persons who offend to grow in respect so that they accept their accountability to the people offended and to representatives of the community. This is called restorative justice. Programs of restorative justice, most notably in the justice system in Sweden and in New Zealand Maori communities, work to build reconciliation based on truth and on being accountable to one another.'

'Keeping Them Connected: Restorative Justice in Schools in Australia and New Zealand – what progress? The traditional response of schools to school discipline is based on the retributive approach which has long characterised the criminal justice system. Research now indicates that this approach generally fails to satisfy the victim, the offender and the community. In the context of criminal offending, attention is increasingly being paid to the application of restorative practices. In New Zealand the restorative justice model has been operating since 1989 for youth offending and is now being implemented in the context of adult offending also. The Australian states and territories are following to varying degrees. Restorative practices move the focus from punishing the offender to requiring them to take responsibility for their actions. Because of this focus they are not seen as a ‘soft option’, and there are many indications of their success. Many schools are now applying this model to school discipline. A variety of different practices are being employed to keep young people in school and connected with the education process, while still not compromising school safety. This article explores the incorporation of restorative practices as alternative and proactive responses to behavioural problems within some Australian and New Zealand schools. The focus here is on particular restorative practices with the acknowledgement that there is a much wider picture which involves changes in school cultures to embrace, in a practical manner, principles of citizenship and democracy. This concept is the subject of significant research which is discussed by the author in a previous article.

'Sally Varnham, professor of law at the University of Technology Sydney, said there was emerging evidence that a “restorative justice” approach to youth crime was more effective than the “short, sharp shock” approach proposed by Senator Hanson. “Schools are introducing restorative practice also in Australia and New Zealand in an attempt to keep young people in schools, as there is such strong evidence of the ‘schoolyard (instead of) jail yard track’,” Dr Varnham said.'

'Restorative justice – where victim and offender meet to talk about the damage done and potential reparation – is not a new concept. Versions of it can be found in antiquity. Under the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, for example, victims were entitled to receive payment for certain property offences. In the modern era, the idea began to regain traction in New Zealand in the 1970s. “It started in Maori populations because young boys were disproportionately represented in prisons for all sorts of petty crimes,” says criminologist Estelle Zinsstag, a senior researcher for KU Leuven, currently based in Glasgow.'

'These forums are being facilitated by a team from the Diana Unwin Chair in Restorative Justice at Victoria University of Wellington and will be guided by principles of restorative justice. “As Director-General of Health, I am committed to doing what I can to ensure New Zealanders who’ve been harmed by surgical mesh are supported and their concerns addressed ... we’re encouraging anyone affected by surgical mesh to register and share how they have been impacted"'