Source: CMC
Jamaica’s Minister of Justice, Delroy Chuck, is urging Caribbean countries to use restorative justice (RJ) to have their citizens settle their differences instead of using abuses, assaults and criminal violence, saying it could also “ make a huge dent in the level of violent crimes across the region”.
Addressing the regional symposium on violence as a public health issue, Chuck, speaking on the topic “ Community Approaches” said RJ is and has been a remarkable and outstanding success to resolve disputes, settle disagreements and de-escalate conflicts.
“It is these minor disputes, misguided disagreements and unresolved conflicts that in many instances escalate into brutish abuses, and serious violence and can have fatal consequences.
“If relationships can be restored by RJ before they descend into criminal violence and, sometimes, even after the violence has been used, then RJ can be deemed a remedial success, with the significant curative value being derived by not only the participants but the communities that would otherwise have been impacted by continued cycles of violence and by extension, the country at large.”
He said Jamaica started to actively collect and track data originating out of the programme in 2018 and that the success rate emanating from the RJ conferences held averages over 80 percent annually.
He said from 1,022 RJ circles in 2018, to 3,662 cases in 2022, more than eight out of every 10 cases have been successfully completed, which means the parties are satisfied with the outcome and the community or the court sanctions the outcome, as acceptable and agreeable.
Chuck said that approximately 75 percent of the cases that are referred to RJ are court referrals and the success rate in these court referrals is over 90 percent.
He said to put it into perspective in 2021 and 2022, a total of 4,460 cases were referred to RJ by the Courts, with 3,904 being satisfactorily resolved “which oftentimes means the charges are withdrawn or the offenders admonished and discharged.
“Invariably, the parties come to a mutual understanding and that is why, ladies and gentlemen, we refer to RJ as “justice that heals.”
Chuck said there are 20 RJ Centres across Jamaica with another two to be opened shortly. There are also 1,000 trained RJ facilitators who can conduct the healing process in RJ circles, most of whom, unfortunately, are underutilized.
“Our focus is to expand the programme so this trained RJ personnel can be more fully utilized, as we try to stem the violence in our communities. “
He said when matters are referred to the RJ Centres, facilitators are appointed to meet separately with the alleged wrongdoer who frequently denies culpability and with the victim who oftentimes is seeking Retributive Justice.
“The alleged wrongdoer is, however, encouraged and persuaded to acknowledge and accept that his/her verbal abuses or actions are wrong, and that the wrongdoing has caused hurt, pain and suffering to the victim. If this is accomplished, the process is more than 50 percent completed.”
Chuck said the next challenge is to encourage the victim to forgive the wrongdoer who has hopefully acknowledged and accepted that he/she was wrong.
“If that is accomplished then an RJ circle is arranged in which the two sides are brought together along with other members of the community, school, church, workplace, or just friends of both parties. It is in these circles that issues are addressed, emotions are calmed and contentious matters settled.
“Time does not allow for the thousands of wonderful testimonials to be highlighted, save and except to indicate that in many, many cases the parties end up hugging and crying on each other’s shoulders while acknowledging how misinformation and misunderstanding caused their problems, and in virtually all cases relationships are restored,” he told the regional audience.
But he said, despite the successes of RJ, “this appropriate mechanism to resolve disputes is not well known, and therefore not well used”.
He said he is shocked that as he travels across Jamaica “no one or less than 10 percent of the audience has ever heard of or about RJ or even what it means.
“If we can get more persons to use RJ to settle their differences instead of using abuses, assaults and criminal violence to resolve conflicts, we would make a huge dent in the level of violent crimes across the region,” he added.