THE restorative justice programme under the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs has maintained a minimum 80 per cent success rate in resolving conflicts, reflecting growing national confidence in the programme.

Through thousands of conferences annually, the programme has successfully repaired relationships, with agreements signed in the majority of cases accepted, acting director of the restorative justice branch in the ministry Sheron Betancourt shared.

“Whatever it is that the parties have agreed to, that agreement is signed for 80 per cent of the cases that we take,” she noted.

Restorative justice seeks to resolve an offence or dispute by having all parties involved coming together to reach an agreement.

It is a different way of thinking about crime and conflict by holding the offender accountable in a more meaningful way and repairing the harm caused by the offence.

Restorative justice helps to reintegrate the offender into the community and to achieve a sense of healing for both the victim and the community.

Cases are referred to the programme by the courts, police or people can self-refer.

“You can walk in if you have a beef with your neighbour and say, ‘I have this challenge’. We will take the initiative, invite the other parties in, and we will set up the conference,” Betancourt said.

The services of the restorative justice branch are free to the public.

“The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs provides this free of cost to every single person who would want to access this service,” said Betancourt.

“So [think of] the money that they will save by not going to court, trying to employ a lawyer, or any of those services; this service is free,” she emphasised.

Betancourt noted further that the programme is unique in its approach to justice by focusing on mending broken relationships.

“I want Jamaicans to know that restorative justice is not just about coming to an agreement; it’s also about restoring the relationship so it reduces the chance of re-offending,” she said.

“If my neighbour and I resolve the conflict and we’re on speaking terms, then it reduces the likelihood that the person will re-offend. They will have the dialogue instead because they would have learned some things from the conference,” she said.

Betancourt said the programme’s follow-up approach has encouraged more Jamaicans to embrace restorative justice over the years.

“We follow them up for three months just to make sure if money is to be repaid, whatever it is, we ask about that. We also ask about the relationship and [if] the [parties] are still on good terms,” she said.

“They have seen where we don’t just sign an agreement and leave them, but we follow up to ensure that whatever was agreed on, that the relationship has been restored. I think that has impacted Jamaicans enough to say, ‘I am heard, I am seen and my relationship with my neighbour or my family members has been restored’. That has impacted Jamaicans and they’re coming around to accept the programme a little bit more.“

She pointed out that citizens can easily access restorative justice services anywhere across the island.

“There is a justice centre in every single parish, so you do not have to go far to find justice. We have nine centres in Kingston where people don’t have to move from one community to another. It’s really justice at your fingertips.“