Restorative Justice Action Plan 2019 - 23
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Quarterly Report
1st October - 31st December 2024
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This report updates on the progress and delivery of the Restorative Justice (RJ) Action Plan for the reporting period of 1 October - 31 December 2024. An annual report for the period 1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024 is currently underway and when signed off by the RJ stakeholder group will be circulated. All previous quarterly and annual reports are available on the CJS Learning Hub.
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Outcome 1: Restorative Justice is available across Scotland
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Progress
The Policy and Practice Framework Document
The draft document was presented to the National RJ Stakeholder Group in October 2024 to gather their expert feedback and insights. To incorporate these, the document will return to this group for final comments in January 2025. Thereafter, the Scottish Government will facilitate a public consultation prior to a decision to publish.
The Policy and Practice document currently includes sections relating to both children and adults, covering the following:
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Restorative Justice Test Cases
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Community Justice Scotland and Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice continue to work on the Restorative Justice Test Case Project. It seeks to identify the emerging opportunities and challenges across key themes in Restorative Justice service delivery that require consideration and/or resolution in the future development of a nationally consistent Restorative Justice provision across Scotland.
We are overlooking six general adult cases, three cases from Thriving Survivors and four children’s cases sitting across nine local authorities and concerning a broad spectrum of harm types. Working in partnership with a range of statutory and third sector referral agencies and RJ providers, we also support, where required, their capacity and ‘operational readiness’ to deliver these cases. Central to this support has been ensuring all written agreements are drafted and in place to comply with data sharing legislation and required service level agreements. Monitoring of cases as well as planning for data analysis is underway.
Restorative Justice Prison Protocol
CJS is coordinating a working group in partnership with Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to develop a protocol to ensure a consistent approach for when Restorative Justice is taking place in custody. In this quarter, The Restorative Justice in Prison Protocol Working Group have completed a second draft of the protocol. The group are now working on the protocol’s supporting documents and seeking feedback on the draft from SPS Governance.
Engagement with Police Scotland
CYCJ continued to meet with multiple Police Scotland personnel to discuss operational considerations for Restorative Justice. These meetings explored how Police Scotland can support the RJ Action Plan and the current test case project. This included CYCJ’s attendance at the RJ for Practitioners training course for Police Officers at Tulliallan Police Training College in October. CYCJ attended to develop insight into Police messages and practices in relation to RJ, and to build relationships with Police Officers who will be practising RJ. It was hoped this would support future collaborative working and provide opportunity to promote and recruit cases for the test case project.
Stakeholder Awareness Raising
In addition to the continued engagement with the local authorities and various third sector organisations in relation to RJ service provision and test cases, CJS and CYCJ have also presented to a group of staff from Victim Support Scotland which acted to raise awareness of the principles of RJ whilst providing an overview of activity in Scotland, including the test case project. A need for a centralised directory of RJ services emerged from this event and we are looking at potential routes for its implementation.
Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice, in collaboration with Children’s Hearings Scotland’s Policy and Practice Team, hosted a round table discussion with active children’s panel members from across five different localities across Scotland. The session explored panel members’ knowledge, understanding, and experience of Restorative Justice, examining its potential application within the Children’s Hearings System. The discussion generated insights and opportunities to engage with national and stakeholder groups, and has helped inform CYCJ’s work on exploring opportunities for integrating RJ within the Children’s Hearing Redesign.
CYCJ also made contact this quarter with Scottish Mediation to find out more about their work and to share the work of the RJ project team. It is hoped that by learning more about their processes that are embedded, resulting in mediation being nationally available, will allow us to further consider how RJ is operationalised. Discussions are ongoing.
Highlighting Survivors' Voices in Restorative Justice
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Outcome 2: Restorative Justice is delivered by highly trained and skilled facilitators
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Progress
Tools and Knowledge Sharing around Restorative Practices
A meeting was chaired by CYCJ with Youthlink, CJS and the Violence Reduction Unit to discuss what training and support each organisation offers in relation to restorative practices. The aim was to share current resources, training and work in relation to restorative practices; to consider the gaps for practitioners; to consider where work could be carried out collaboratively; and lay the groundwork for developing a structured approach to effectively and consistently providing restorative practices across Scotland. Information about resources and training are currently getting recorded in a single shared document. The meetings will continue on a bi-monthly basis.
RJ Webinar with Dr. Steve Kirkwood
As part of Restorative Justice Week’s celebrations in November, CYCJ hosted esteemed RJ academic Dr. Steve Kirkwood for a 50-minute webinar entitled Reflections on a Practice Framework for Restorative Justice, which was attended by 84 people from a range of disciplines and organisations. Dr. Kirkwood provided a summary of his critical examination of the connections between values, principles, knowledge assumptions and practice guidelines to offer a Practice Framework for Restorative Justice, with an opportunity for questions provided. A video recording of the webinar is available on CYCJ’s website.
Restorative Justice Online Learning Module
The RJ Learning Module has been developed by CJS for frontline, operational staff on Restorative Justice. The content was written by Prof Tim Chapman and Tania Nascimento, designed to offer a basic introduction to and overview of Restorative Justice.
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Community Justice Scotland continues to monitor user feedback on the Restorative Justice Online Learning Module to ensure its effectiveness and relevance. Based on this feedback, several improvements have been identified and are scheduled for implementation in quarter four period. Looking ahead, a more comprehensive update to the module is planned for 2025/26, which will involve a consultation process with stakeholders to gather more insights and ensure the module continues to meet their needs.
The module is available for stakeholders and the public and can be accessed via the CJS Learning Hub.
Cross-border Collaboration on RJ Facilitators Training
This quarter, CJS collaborated with the Faith & Belief Forum, Interfaith Glasgow, and the Why Me? RJ charity to deliver training as part of the Interfaith Restorative Justice Project. The project focuses on applying restorative justice practices to address hostility within and between faith communities in Solihull and Glasgow, providing training and support to help faith groups manage local conflicts.
In November, Gael Cochrane (CJS) and Mark Hamill (WhyMe?) co-delivered a 3-day training session for nine facilitators from Interfaith Glasgow.
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Outcome 3: There is a public awareness and understanding of Restorative Justice across Scotland
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Progress
Restorative Justice Art Exhibition
Aiming to increase public awareness and understanding of Restorative Justice and reach new audiences, Community Justice Scotland, in collaboration with the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and Fife College’s Learning Centre at SPS, held a multimedia RJ Arts Exhibition at Maryhill Community Centre, Glasgow, from 14 – 17 October 2024. As part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (SMHAF), Restorative Voices: Seen and Heard showcased RJ-inspired creative works of people in custody at HMP Low Moss and offered a unique perspective on the intersection of mental health, wellbeing, the justice system and Restorative Justice. The exhibition also demonstrated Scotland’s journey towards developing RJ services across the country and highlighted its impact on mental health, rehabilitation and healing.
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The exhibition attracted 91 attendees, including members of the public, family and friends of the artists, justice professionals, and academics. Visitors expressed overwhelmingly positive feedback, praising the artworks and their impact, with many calling for it to be expanded or toured across Scotland to reach wider audiences. Many attendees engaged with the RJ team, asking questions and deepening their understanding of RJ principles.
Impact on awareness: among the 50 feedback forms collected, 36% of respondents reported having no (12%) or very limited (24%) prior knowledge of RJ. After attending, 94% of respondents stated their knowledge had improved, with 44% reporting significant improvement, 38% - moderate improvement, and 12% noting slight improvement. Gathered feedback revealed new insights gained as well as the emotional and educational power of the exhibition, emphasising the unique effectiveness of art in communicating RJ.
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The exhibition also generated interest in future initiatives. Several visitors expressed a desire to be involved in similar events. Conversations sparked at the exhibition space led to new opportunities, including an invitation to deliver a seminar on RJ to postgraduate students at Stirling University.
The impact of awareness raising and engagement stretched beyond attendance numbers. Promotion through social media and the festival’s media partners further expanded the reach and influence of the exhibition’s message. The statistics below present digital engagement metrics including social media, access to a digital album containing photos of the artworks and moments from the exhibition opening event, and a blog released in November:
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In the Media: “The festival received 107 pieces of media coverage between 16 September and 21 November 2024, spanning national and regional broadcast, print, and online platforms across both traditional and arts media”*. While specific events were not always directly mentioned, the widespread coverage helped raise awareness of the festival as a whole, enhancing the reach and engagement with the programme, and potentially the discovery our exhibition and the concept of Restorative Justice.
*Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2024 Festival Report
Restorative Justice and Educational Inputs
In November 2024, Community Justice Scotland delivered two educational sessions to improve knowledge and awareness of Restorative Justice (RJ) among students at both secondary and higher education levels. On 27 November, we presented to Advanced Higher Modern Studies students from Edinburgh and the Lothians at George Watson’s College Crime and Justice Conference, providing two introductory talks on RJ and its application in Scotland. On 28 November, CJS delivered a seminar to postgraduate students on the Rehabilitation and Criminal Justice Work course at Stirling University, exploring RJ’s role in community justice and its links to rehabilitation.
CYCJ, along with stakeholders including children, members of the Scottish Youth Parliament, parents, and professionals, contributed video content to a resource created by Education Scotland for the event, Children, classrooms and challenging behaviour: do the rights of the many outweigh the rights of the few?, held on November 27, 2024. The event featured Professor Laura Lundy and a panel of key stakeholders discussing the application of a rights-based approach to address marginalisation and exclusionary practices in Scottish schools. CYCJ’s contribution highlighted the potential of restorative approaches in addressing harm, equipping children with conflict resolution tools, fostering accountability, and promoting rights-respecting behaviours through real-life learning. The resource will be used by Education Scotland more widely.
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Restorative Justice Week 2024
Community Justice Scotland and Children and Young People's Centre for Justice collaborated and supported each organisation's communications during the Restorative Justice week 2024. A number of outputs were published and promoted via CYCJ’s monthly e-bulletin, joint mailing lists, and on various social media platforms, gaining a lot of engagement and increasing awareness of Restorative Justice. More information in the Stakeholder Spotlight section below.
As part of the week’s activities, CYCJ attended the Restorative Justice Council’s annual conference in Cardiff entitled Paving the Way to a Restorative Future. This event brought together colleagues and partners from across the UK to exchange knowledge and explore ways to expand restorative justice access to more people and communities. During the visit, CYCJ also connected with local RJ providers in Cardiff, fostering valuable discussions about best practices and shared learning. Two new blogs, capturing their experiences and reflections from the conference, were published on CYCJ website.
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Stakeholder Spotlight
Restorative Justice Week 2024:
The Promise of Restorative Justice in a Polarising World
#RJWeek2024 #RJWorks #RestorativeScotland
In 2024, Restorative Justice Week took place from 17-23 November, raising awareness among the public and decision-makers while promoting RJ to both existing and new audiences across the UK and globally.
The theme, The Promise of Restorative Justice in a Polarising World, explored how RJ can bridge divides, foster understanding and build resilience in increasingly fractured societies. A unified message shared across countries aimed to amplify the global impact on RJ’s importance and transformative potential in helping those affected by crime to find a way forward.
Community Justice Scotland and Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice collaborated to share key messages and resources on RJ’s principles, its role in turning division into dialogue, and updates on its development in Scotland. Through diverse communications on social media channels such as LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook, the organisations reached over 282k people. Content included blogs, interviews, media articles, service updates, research findings, a digital information booklet, RJ process illustrations, webinars, animations, photos from the RJ Arts exhibition, and quotes from the professionals in the field. In addition, extensive signposting directed audiences to resources from partner organisations, RJ materials on various platforms, and in-person and online events across the UK and Europe.
Both stakeholders and the public actively engaged with social media content throughout Restorative Justice Week. The engagement statistics below highlight the success and impact of the materials shared by partners in continuing to significantly grow RJ’s digital footprint, compared to reaching over 32k people in year 2022 and 59k in 2023.
The new blog posts received the highest engagement rates, reaching over 115k* people and generating over 2k interactions across all social media platforms. Read the blogs here: The Role of Art in Communicating Restorative Justice by Inesa Velaviciute and We Need to Listen to People in the Justice System by John Nonhebel, the Executive Director of Prison Fellowship Scotland.
The interview with Dr. Clair Aldington, an artist, researcher, RJ facilitator, on how the restorative circle group the Encounter of Encounters tackled international political violence with Restorative Justice and art, was also very well received, generating a remarkable total of over 51k* impressions and 571 interactions.
*This content, along with some of the professionals’ quotes, was promoted through sponsored posts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. As a result, it achieved the highest reach among new audiences, specifically individuals who do not typically engage with our social media accounts or follow us.
The full content of X (Twitter) communications during RJ week can be accessed on @ComJusScot and @CYCJScotland.
In addition to social media communications, CYCJ hosted a webinar featuring Dr. Steve Kirkwood, Head of Social Work at the University of Edinburgh, on Reflections on a Practice Framework for Restorative Justice. The session was attended by 84 participants and received positive feedback, with attendees describing it as highly informative and valuable. Engagement continued after the event, with the webinar recording on CYCJ’s Youtube channel getting viewed 53 times.
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Restorative Justice Animation
Use this animation of Restorative Justice in Scotland to help raise awareness.
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Useful documents
Click the button below for useful information about Restorative Justice: research papers, reports and other documents, guidance and toolkits, signposting to other websites.
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Stakeholder Feedback Form
Click the button below to complete the form we are currently testing for communication with stakeholders. Please note, you may communicate anonymously, no personal details are required.
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