Restorative Justice
Restorative justice aims to address and repair the harm and trauma caused by crime and provides a meaningful alternative to traditional methods of dealing with crime.
What is Restorative Justice?
Restorative justice aims to address and repair the harm and trauma caused by crime and provides a meaningful alternative to traditional methods of dealing with crime.
The benefits of restorative justice are well established in Northern Ireland, within both the formal youth justice system and community-based restorative justice. It improves how we meet the needs of, and provide redress for, the harm and/or trauma caused by crime.
Restorative justice gives the victim the opportunity to meet or communicate with the person who harmed them in a way that is safe and confidential. It might also help victims begin to recover from what happened.
It can also help the person who caused harm. In this process they can hear about the impact of their behaviour, answer important questions, and identify what they intend to do to make things right and avoid further offending. This can help prevent others from being harmed by crime.
Department of Justice Restorative Justice Video
Watch: A video providing an overview of what Restorative Justice is, what it entails and how it could take place.
New accreditation process
The Department of Justice has been developing new arrangements for delivering on commitments in the Adult Restorative Justice Strategy and revised 2023 Restorative Justice Protocol , one of the main elements of which was the development of a new Practice Standards and Accreditation Framework which outlined the criteria for becoming accredited by the Department of Justice. This allowed Restorative Justice organisations and Restorative Justice practitioners to seek accreditation and take on work as part of the criminal justice system.
Restorative Justice information leaflets
To give people who may be interested in a restorative process more information, the Department has created a range of information and preparation leaflets which you view at the publication section of this website.
Annual progress reports
An annual progress report for each of the years since the launch of the Adult Restorative Justice Strategy can be found below:
- Adult Restorative Justice Strategy Annual Progress Report Year 1
- Adult Restorative Justice Strategy Annual Progress Report Year 2
- Adult Restorative Justice Strategy Annual Progress Report Year 3
- Adult Restorative Justice Strategy Annual Progress Report Year 4