AN INTRODUCTION TO RESTORATIVE AND RELATIONAL PROCESSES (RP)
The aim of restorative and relational processes is to develop community and to manage conflict through building, strengthening and maintaining existing relationships plus repairing harm and broken relationships.
This statement identifies both proactive (developing community) and reactive (repairing harm and building relationships) approaches. Organisations and services that only use the reactive without building the social capital beforehand are less successful than those that also do the proactive.
Restorative and Relational Processes as defined by the SynRJ have five key elements which make them explicit rather than implicit. These are:
1. Relational Styles Template
2. Fair Process
3. Relational (Restorative) Questions
4. Free expression of all Emotions
5. Braithwaite’s Hypothesis
Restorative and Relational Processes as defined by the SynRJ have five key elements which make them explicit rather than implicit. These are:
1. Relational Styles Template
2. Fair Process
3. Relational (Restorative) Questions
4. Free expression of all Emotions
5. Braithwaite’s Hypothesis
Restorative and Relational Processes: Intervention Levels
Every instance of wrongdoing or conflict is seen as an opportunity for learning and can be addressed either informally through the conversational use of key questions or more formally through a restorative conference.
Looking back to the key elements of Restorative and Relational Processes, if we believe that it is best to do things WITH people; whenever possible we should use fair process; our responses to behaviour should involve building relationships and repairing harm; then the following Restorative and Relational Processes emerge.
As you move from the informal to the formal responses they tend to involve, more people, more planning, more time, be more complete and more structured.
The five intervention levels:
Models/Uses of Restorative Justice and Practice
Circles. A process which encourages the use of many restorative skills and values, such as: mutual respect, empathy, active listening, impartiality, non-judgemental, acceptance of difference and win-win problem solving.
Community Conferencing. A meeting involving members of a community who come together to resolve a conflict facilitated by an impartial third party in a safe and positive way.
Family Group Meeting/Conference (FGM/C). A group meeting or conference where members of the extended family are invited to come together with the aim of resolving family crisis, conflict or behavioural problems (including crime in some cases). It can involve social workers, education welfare officers, service providers, police, etc.
Indirect mediation/process. This is where the wrongdoer (offender) and/or the harmed person (victim) do not wish to meet with each other. The mediator or facilitator 'shuttles' between them to convey messages and often to reach agreement. This is also known as ‘shuttle’ mediation.
Mediation. A face-to-face process, in which an impartial outside party helps two or more disputants work out how to resolve a conflict.
Restorative Conferencing or Restorative Justice Conferencing (RC). What defines a restorative conference varies. In general it refers to a structured intervention by a trained facilitator involving all those affected by an incident in seeking ways to repair the harm.
Restorative Cautioning. A process pioneered in the UK by Thames Valley Police in the UK using the conferencing method, but often not involving the victim.
Restorative Justice Programme. Any programme that uses restorative processes, which adhere to restorative values, or aims to achieve restorative outcomes for all those affected by a conflict.
Every instance of wrongdoing or conflict is seen as an opportunity for learning and can be addressed either informally through the conversational use of key questions or more formally through a restorative conference.
Looking back to the key elements of Restorative and Relational Processes, if we believe that it is best to do things WITH people; whenever possible we should use fair process; our responses to behaviour should involve building relationships and repairing harm; then the following Restorative and Relational Processes emerge.
As you move from the informal to the formal responses they tend to involve, more people, more planning, more time, be more complete and more structured.
The five intervention levels:
- Affective Language (and Statements): the use of restorative and relational language to make brief comments about how others were impacted by the person's behavior (positive as well negative)
- Relational (Restorative) Questions: asking the wrongdoer questions like who was affected, how they were affected, etc (positive as well as negatives).
- Informal Meeting (Restorative Conversation): bring together a few people to talk about the incident its impact and what to do next (positive as well as negative).
- Circles: allow everyone to have some say (positive as well as negative).
- Formal Meeting (Conference): a formal, structured process, which in most cases brings together harmed persons, wrongdoers, and their supporters.
Models/Uses of Restorative Justice and Practice
Circles. A process which encourages the use of many restorative skills and values, such as: mutual respect, empathy, active listening, impartiality, non-judgemental, acceptance of difference and win-win problem solving.
Community Conferencing. A meeting involving members of a community who come together to resolve a conflict facilitated by an impartial third party in a safe and positive way.
Family Group Meeting/Conference (FGM/C). A group meeting or conference where members of the extended family are invited to come together with the aim of resolving family crisis, conflict or behavioural problems (including crime in some cases). It can involve social workers, education welfare officers, service providers, police, etc.
Indirect mediation/process. This is where the wrongdoer (offender) and/or the harmed person (victim) do not wish to meet with each other. The mediator or facilitator 'shuttles' between them to convey messages and often to reach agreement. This is also known as ‘shuttle’ mediation.
Mediation. A face-to-face process, in which an impartial outside party helps two or more disputants work out how to resolve a conflict.
Restorative Conferencing or Restorative Justice Conferencing (RC). What defines a restorative conference varies. In general it refers to a structured intervention by a trained facilitator involving all those affected by an incident in seeking ways to repair the harm.
Restorative Cautioning. A process pioneered in the UK by Thames Valley Police in the UK using the conferencing method, but often not involving the victim.
Restorative Justice Programme. Any programme that uses restorative processes, which adhere to restorative values, or aims to achieve restorative outcomes for all those affected by a conflict.