by Alan Jacques
alan@limerickpost.ie
A STUDY of Le Chéile’s Restorative Justice Project in Limerick has shown that restorative justice should be a preferred option for young offenders.
Ireland’s first and only non-statutory youth restorative justice service provides a range of services to young people who have been involved in crime and are engaged with the Probation Service.
The study carried out by Quality Matters found significant benefits not only for young people but also for the families and the victims of crime. The evaluation revealed that young people displayed a significant increase in empathy towards victims after engaging with the project, as well as better family relationships and less contact with the Gardaí and court system.
Parents also reported positive outcomes for family life and improved relationships while victims of crime found that restorative justice (RJ) was a far better experience than the traditional criminal justice system. They stated that by participating in the project, they had a meaningful voice and found it more respectful and inclusive than the traditional court process.
The project, established in 2010, works with young people on probation using a range of RJ models including face-to-face meetings, proxy victims, victim empathy programmes, and reparation. The RJ project is part of Le Chéile Mentoring & Youth Justice Support Services, which provides volunteer mentoring as well as RJ, and family support services to young people who offend.
