Jamaica’s Justice Minister Delroy Chuck is urging Caribbean countries to use restorative justice to settle disputes instead of the usual abuses, assaults, and criminal violence.
The minister said the use of restorative justice 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, who was speaking on the topic ‘Community Approaches’ said restorative justice 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, serious violence and can have fatal consequences,” Chuck said.
“If relationships can be restored by restorative justice before they descend into criminal violence and, sometimes, even after violence has been used, then restorative justice can be deemed a remedial success, with 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 added.
Chuck said Jamaica started to actively collect and track data originating out of the program in 2018 and that the success rate emanating from the restorative justice conferences held averages over 80 per cent annually.
He said from 1,022 restorative justice 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 per cent of the cases that are referred to restorative justice are court referrals and the success rate in these court referrals is over 90 per cent.
“Invariably, the parties come to a mutual understanding and that is why, ladies and gentlemen, we refer to restorative justice as justice that heals,” the justice minister said.
Chuck said there are 20 restorative justice centers across Jamaica with another two to be opened shortly. There are also 1,000 trained restorative justice facilitators who can conduct the healing process in restorative justice circles, most of whom, unfortunately, are underutilized.
“Our focus is to expand the program so these trained RJ personnel can be more fully utilized, as we try to stem the violence in our communities,” Chuck disclosed.
He said when matters are referred to the restorative justice centers, facilitators are appointed to meet separately with the alleged wrongdoer who frequently denies culpability and with the victim who is often 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 per cent completed,” Chuck explained.
Delroy 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.
He added that if more people use restorative justice to settle their difference instead of using abuses, assaults and criminal violence to resolve conflicts, a huge dent would be made in the level of violent crimes across the region.
CMC/
