Violent Criminals To Say Sorry To Victims In Prison

Prisoners who have been convicted of serious assault, robbery and housebreaking will be given the opportunity to meet and apologise to their victims under new plans to curb reoffending.

{mosimage}Victims and relatives will be contacted to see if they are willing to have prison meetings with criminals who have committed a range of serious crimes.

Currently, restorative justice meetings are arranged in the community for offenders aged between eight and 16 who have committed minor offences such as breaking windows.

Offenders are given the opportunity to apologise and make amends by doing community work.

Restorative justice has been strongly supported by Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson and Scotland’s chief police officers in relation to minor crimes and youth offending.

However, this is the first time it has been promoted by the executive in relation to serious and violent offences.

Protocols drawn up between the Scottish Executive, Scottish Prison Service and social workers promote restorative justice for prisoners aged 18 and under.

Under the plans, restorative justice, which was developed in Australia and America and has been used in some areas as an alternative to custody for crimes as serious as rape, will be used in relation to any crimes other than murder, attempted murder and sexual offences.

The programme is expected to begin in Cornton Vale, the women’s prison, and Polmont Young Offenders Institution, which houses young male offenders.

Dr Derek Brookes, head of the Scottish Restorative Justice Consultancy and Training Service, which is funded by the executive and run by Sacro, a voluntary body which works with offenders in the community, said: “The new protocols make it clear the use of restorative justice would not involve those convicted of murder, attempted murder or sexual offences but could include serious assault or robbery.

“Making the protocols work is still at an early stage. For example, the young offender institutions will need to agree an arrangement with the Crown Office as to how to contact people who have been harmed by crime to see if they would like to be involved or would prefer to opt out.

“For young people in prison, their participation in restorative justice is unlikely to have any bearing on the length of their sentence; and the process is entirely voluntary. So their main incentive would be the opportunity to take responsibility for their actions by apologising for what they have done and making amends.

“For those harmed by crime, participating in restorative justice could give them an opportunity to get answers to questions, to explain how the offence has affected them, and to receive an apology. There is strong evidence to suggest this can help some people in their recovery process. In fact, this is one of the reasons why restorative justice is growing in popularity worldwide.”

The Herald revealed last year that Sacro has piloted the use of restorative justice in relation to crimes such as murder. The project, which is not funded, is based on a model developed in Texas with murderers on death row.

A woman whose son was murdered and a couple whose 15-year-old son was killed by a drunk driver have already gone through the programme.

The process of restorative justice forms part of the Labour-LibDem partnership agreement, but this is the first time it has been promoted nationally in relation to such serious crimes.