Mediation Hertfordshire
Monthly Bulletin
So, August is upon us again and I hope that holiday plans are well underway and that you all enjoy your breaks, however near or far.
This month we have several things to tell you about and hope that you’ll find this interesting and informative.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We’re planning a curry evening on Thursday 26th August at Devdas in St Albans. Some of you have already replied to confirm attendance but, if not, could you let Sarah or Jackie know by the 6th August? We will then confirm timings etc and look forward to having a good catch-up and a fun evening.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
You may have noticed that Sarah and Jackie have made a small change to their working days; Jackie is in on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Sarah is here for the final 2 days of the week. This arrangement should make continuity easier and more efficient.
Angela Turnbull has kindly offered her services to us as an office volunteer and she will start to come in for a few hours a week from early August.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
There is still confusion amongst mediators about what forms they should be returning to the office following party visits. We currently send out 2 sets of forms for initial meetings, one to be completed and returned to the office and the other for mediators’ own use. Following discussion at a staff meeting, we are proposing to stop sending out the forms headed ‘Initial Visit to Party 1/Initial Visit to P2’ which is for mediators own use and not to be returned to the office – from 1st September.
If you are very attached to these forms and use them regularly, we can let you have a supply to use as you go along. If anyone has a strong objection to this change, please let us know at the office.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Following my earlier e-mails about running a pilot scheme to develop Workplace Mediation, and a number of developments since those messages, I can now bring you up to date with how it’s all progressing.
Elaine Mercer has been appointed as the Development Worker for this project, to look into the target market for such a service, determine overall costings and draw up a Business Plan to take it into the next stage of development.
Sue Banwell-Moore will be training a group of 6 mediators on an OCN course in Workplace Mediation, with a view to getting each mediator some experience of undertaking at least one case during the 8-month pilot.
I know that some of you were disappointed not to have been able to undertake the training at this time. I would envisage that we will be offering further training opportunities in the future, if the pilot is successful and we agree to take it forward from April 2011. I will update on progress through the newsletters so please keep an eye out for news. Elaine may be getting in touch with some of you to discuss aspects of the potential service and get your feedback.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Newsletter Revamp
This newsletter is intended to pass on information to the mediator team and ideally to be a 2-way channel of communication. Unfortunately, it’s very rare to get any responses to articles or information, although it does occasionally happen!
Sarah has offered to revamp the layout and look of the newsletter to make it more eye-catching and interesting, so watch out for the changes in the autumn. We are also going to include mediator profiles, to share with each other how we spend our non-mediation time, and Sarah has offered to start us off on that. Look out for future requests for contributions!
We are also looking as a team at using social media for communicating with all of you. I must admit to being Facebook-phobic and not having the skills to set up blogs etc. but I think that this may be the way forward for better and more regular communication. If any of you have ideas or feel that you’re able to help us set up something which would work as a medium for communication, please do let me know.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Restorative Justice in the News
On 25th July, the following article featured in a Sunday newspaper. I have included some excerpts below;
“Tens of thousands of offenders may be able to reduce their sentences by making personal apologies to their victims, under plans for a ‘rehabilitation revolution’ in the criminal justice system.
Crispin Blunt, the prisons minister, is considering the move as part of a drive to offer victims the chance to come face to face with the person who committed the crime against them. A report released today by two charities, Victim Support and the Restorative Justice Consortium, suggests the policy could save £185 million in two years by cutting reoffending.
The radical reforms will fuel an increasingly bitter law and order row within the coalition government. Ken Clarke, the Minister of Justice, has been fiercely criticised for arguing that the number of prisoners in UK jails should be reduced.
Blunt said that offenders could be confronted with the victims of their crime in meetings facilitated by police officers. “I’m a maximalist when it comes to restorative justice – I want to get it into our system at every stage. It makes common sense. If you have a system that is remote, so the victim doesn’t really engage, then they become frustrated by the lack of involvement” he said.
But some conservative MPs warned against favouring the wishes of those working in the criminal justice system, and not the wider public.
Tory MP Douglas Carswell said: “Restorative Justice is certainly a fad that excited those that work for the criminal justice system, and I am not sure it is necessarily a bad thing. But it should be no substitute for justice. Some people tend to think that rehabilitation should take primacy over punishment. I don’t think most people agree with that”.
Blunt is being advised about how to roll out the plans by Victim Support and the Restorative Justice Consortium, which wants 75,000 victims of robbery, violence and burglary each year to be offered meetings, arguing that this would cut reconviction rates by 27%.
The report recommends meetings take place before sentencing. Lawrence Kershen QC said case law indicated that judges could take into account a restorative meeting when considering sentencing. “An important element that judges are looking for is whether there is remorse. The reason we look for that is if someone feels remorse there is a better chance – although no guarantee – that they will not do it again.” Both charities point out that such meetings are used in other countries to divert people out of the criminal justice system. Critics claim that offenders could manipulate such a system by lying, but Kershen added: “Most of the time victims know if someone is genuine when they say they are sorry. Offenders say facing their victim is one of the hardest things to do. You cannot hide behind a lawyer – you are there, naked in a way.”
The Forgiveness Project helps to encourage restorative justice by facilitating meetings for offenders with the actual victim or ‘surrogate victims’. Among the people who have been helped by the project are Mary Foley, whose 15-year old daughter was stabbed to death by teenager Beatriz Martins-Paes, who later wrote to her to apologise. The mother has forgiven Martins-Paes and wants to meet her, saying restorative justice brings closure and healing.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++