The RJC is offering 10 non-criminal justice sector organisations the chance to apply for the newly-updated Restorative Service Quality Mark (RSQM) for just £1,500 plus VAT – a saving of £2,500 on the standard application fee. The offer is open on a first come first served basis to all organisations using restorative practice outside the criminal justice system.
As with the Ministry of Justice, the subject of a previous blog, the whole ministerial team at the Home Office changed before the summer, with a fresh face in every ministerial position. Yet, with the previous Home Secretary now in Downing Street, we can reasonably expect more continuity in Home Office policy than in many other departments. Amber Rudd will want to make her mark as Home Secretary, of course, but it’s hard to see a radical reshaping of her predecessor’s agenda.
The IARS International Institute is looking for individuals who have been a victim of any crime, and restorative justice practitioners to become members of the Restorative justice user scrutiny panel. The Panel is an independent body hosted by IARS as part of the Pan-London restorative justice service currently being developed by Restore: London. The service was commissioned by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime.
‘Victim wellbeing’ is a phrase often linked to restorative justice, but what does that look like in practice? In this article, Greg Smith (restorative justice development manager at Thames Valley Restorative Justice Service (TVRJS)), Diana Batchelor (PhD researcher at Oxford University, and independent evaluation researcher for TVRJS) and Becci Seaborne (assistant director for restorative justice at TVRJS) consider why – and how – restorative justice could become a default option for health service providers.
The RJC is looking for an experienced Finance and Administration Officer to take on a key role within the organisation. They will work with the Finance and Operations Manager to provide a friendly and helpful first point of contact for RJC members, customers, stakeholders and the general public. They will help to administer the RJC’s membership and accreditation functions, while also providing administrative support to the staff team.
Unlike the Ministry of Justice, which was the focus of my blog from 1 August, the Department for Education has seen some ministerial survivors of the recent reshuffle. A new secretary of state, Justine Greening, has come in to replace Nicky Morgan and Nick Boles and Sam Gyimah have moved on (the latter to the Ministry of Justice). But the two key ministers of state, Nick Gibb and Edward Timpson, have survived (as have universities minister Jo Johnson and junior schools minister Lord Nash).
Commenting on the report of the Justice Select Committee’s inquiry on restorative justice, Jon Collins, chief executive of the Restorative Justice Council, who gave evidence to the inquiry, said:
“This report from the Justice Select Committee is a welcome audit of the progress made so far in broadening access to high quality restorative justice in England and Wales and sets out some clear recommendations for next steps.
After an armed robbery at his home, Waseem was left feeling scared and vulnerable. But when Waseem discovered that the offenders were teenagers, his anger turned into a need to find out why they had done it. Here, he talks about how restorative justice allowed him to get answers to his questions.
