New Restorative Justice Service for Norfolk and Suffolk launched during National Restorative Justice Week

A new Restorative Justice (RJ) service is being launched in Norfolk and Suffolk which will complement and increase RJ current provision across the two counties.

Commissioned by Norfolk and Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioners, it will see a Victim Support RJ Service Manager and team leader working with a network of trained volunteers who will undertake the Restorative Justice process in appropriate cases.

The Victim Support team will work closely with police operational teams to identify relevant cases, assess them for suitability for the RJ process and then work with the victim and offender to arrange a meeting.

Initially, cases will be subject to some parameters, for example it will only involve adult offenders and will not include those cases which are already in the court system, but as the knowledge and experience of the team develops these parameters will be reviewed. Training of volunteers will take place in December and it hoped the first cases will be the subject of assessment and development soon after that.

This is a new opportunity to build on the good work that has already taken place in both counties to deliver a victim focused Restorative Justice Service. It will allow victims of crime, in appropriate cases, to have a voice and try to reach some understanding about what has happened and why.

The launch comes as National Restorative Justice Week (16 – 23 November) takes place.

The Ministry of Justice is supporting this annual event by running a public awareness raising campaign. Supported by the Restorative Justice Council, WhyMe? and the Chris Donovan Trust, it’s called “What would you do?”, and encourages people to think about whether they would meet somebody who committed a crime against them.

In addition to the national campaign, the Ministry of Justice has also published their Progress Report against the 2013 RJ Action Plan and MoJ’s new Action Plan for 2015-18.

Click below for more details
What would you do?
MoJ RJ Progress Report
MoJ Action Plan

Victims’ Commissioner calls on victims to have their say

The Victims’ Commissioner wants to hear about victims experiences and how they feel about the service they receive, as part of a series of reviews into the services which criminal justice agencies provide to victims.

The first review will focus on the ways in which agencies allow or help victims of crime to make a complaint about their experience or treatment. The findings will help identify what works well and also where agencies need to make improvements.

The results will then be presented to the Government to help improve support and services for those affected by crime.

If you have been a victim of crime and you gave feedback or made a complaint to a criminal justice agency, please take part in the survey, using the link below.

The survey will run until 26 November and all details will be kept anonymous.

Click here to access the survey.

Government announces preferred bidders for probation contracts

The Ministry of Justice has announced the ‘preferred bidders’ for each of the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) who will deliver rehabilitation services for offenders across England and Wales. The preferred bidder for Norfolk and Suffolk CRC is Sodexo Justice Services, a private organisation, in partnership with NACRO, a charity.

The contracts, worth £450m nationally are due to be in place in early 2015, and will see over 70% of the work of the public probation service going to private and voluntary sector providers as part of the Ministry of Justice Transforming Rehabilitation programme. The public National Probation Service will retain responsibility for services for high-risk offenders.

More information and the full list of Preferred Bidders for all 21 CRCs is available on the Ministry of Justice website, here.