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Shaping Community Restorative Justice
I've heard a lot about Community Restorative Justice projects lately and, to be honest, don't have many facts about them. So when I head that the government published plans today for officially sanctioned Community Restorative Justice schemes (more on that further down), I did a little (and it was a little!) reading to see what I could find out about them.
CRJs are widely seen as an attempt by republicans (and to some degree, loyalists too) to set up alternatives to the police service. The 14 CRJ schemes set up in republican areas, in contrast to the 5 operating in loyalist areas, work independently from the police. While critics claim they effectively cut the nationalist community off even further from the police, their backers say they offer an alternative to paramilitary justice.
The reason the proposals published today (online at the NIO) are so important is because officially sanctioned CRJs would receive government funding. The plans would see the CRJ schemes co-operate with the existing justice agencies (PSNI, probation board, etc). Under the plans, which are out for consulation, the CRJs would have to apply for permission to handle a case.
Follow up:
That all sounds well and good, but I always had the impression that those running CRJ schemes, especially the republican ones, intend for them to be an alternative to a police force, more at home competing with the PSNI and the courts than co-operating with them.
In yesterday's Sunday Times Liam Clarke claimed that the preconditions for funding and recognition laid out by the government (ie co-operation with the existing justice infrastructure) would be "a blow to Sinn Fein". I don't see why that has to be the case, although don't doubt they will moan about it. This setup could potentially give well needed legitimacy to the schemes. Without these steps, I fail to see how CRJ can ever provide any accountability at all.