Police-led Restorative Justice services

There is a growing body of evidence to support the use of restorative justice to help overcome the harm of crime and conflict. In the context of policing, restorative justice offers a range of benefits including increased victim satisfaction; increased community capital including better relationships with law enforcement; decreases in reoffending; and reduction in offending when used in diversionary programmes. In the UK, restorative justice plays varying roles across policing and the criminal justice system, including within Crown Prosecution Service guidance for the use of restorative justice with the conditional cautioning framework; Youth Justice Board support for applications with young people; and the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime in England and Wales making it a right for victims to receive information about restorative justice. Despite this, the availability and types of restorative justice provision vary across the UK, with a recent APPG describing a ‘postcode lottery’. This paper reports on an evaluation conducted to support the Metropolitan Police Service (UK) in redeveloping their restorative justice policy for use across London. The evaluation identified key areas for consideration when developing restorative provision within a police service, including: the importance of workable definitions and applications of RJ; the benefits of different funding models; approaches for effective integration into policy and practice; and measuring and evaluating successes. The findings have wide relevance, including the resourcing implications of embedding Restorative justice within a police service.