Posts Tagged ‘apologies’
Victim Meetings for Youth Criminals
The BBC is reporting that criminals brought face-to-face with their victims are much less likely to become repeat offenders. Restorative justice system in Northern Ireland offers youth criminals chance to apologize to their victims.
“Some 38% of 10 to 17 year-olds participating in the scheme in Northern Ireland in 2006 re-offended within a year, compared to 71% of those given custodial terms.”
The public engagement of the Restorative Justice System has been widely viewed as a great success in Northern Ireland and has set an example for justice systems in the rest of the world.
Posted by hcdmedia
Saying Sorry in Ireland
In Northern Ireland, many juvenile offenders have been sent to “youth conferences” – meetings that entail free restorative work and face-to-face apologies. The results have been published and amazingly, these meetings seem to reduce crime and lower rates of recidivism. More than 5,000 meetings between criminals and victims have taken place since 2003 and a marked difference in percentage of youth re-offending was found between those who took part in restorative justice programs and those who were given custodial terms. Roughly 38% of 10 to 17 year olds participating in the program in Northern Ireland in 2006 re-offended within a year, compared to 71% of those given custodial terms.
Read more about the program here.
Posted by hcdmedia