Republican News · Thursday 27 May 1999

[An Phoblacht]

Getting involved and challenging myths

BY NED KELLY


In the third of four articles examining the positive effect Community Restorative Justice (CRJ) can have in mending community relationships, Ned Kelly reports from an enrolment meeting in West Belfast and finds out about getting involved.

Women outnumbered men and there was a good number of younger people from the local community at a meeting in the Whiterock Community Centre on Friday night last when current members of the Upper Springfield Community Restorative Justice team outlined what getting involved in the community initiative would mean.

The message was that it would involve time and commitment. The training programme, in five three-hour sessions, involves looking at what crime is, crime prevention, measuring the legitimacy of CRJ, mediation skills, and human rights and humanitarian law - with agencies such as NIACRO, Helsinki Watch, British Irish Rights Watch and Amnesty International and Alcoholics Anonymous all having an input.

In a role play at the meeting, people split up into groups of two and took turns discussing a relationship they had problems with - be it at work or closer to home - with the partner listening. The partner then had to suggest two ideas for dealing with the problem. Might sound easy, but some of the issues it threw up go right to the heart of working the CRJ concept.

For some people, it might be difficult to talk about a situation, especially if it is sensitive and especially to someone they don't know. It involves trust and empathy, listening and reassurance. The need for confidentiality is absolute, and it was stressed that this is a personal responsibility.

 
One point that came out of the meeting was the need to destroy the myth gaining ground that CRJ is an alternative to a police force. It is not. CRJ is a new way of dealing with problems, it is comparatively cost-effective and it tackles the causes behind crime or anti-social behaviour, the breakdown in the relationships connecting people within a community. It treats people respectfully as equal individuals but it is not a about being an alternative to a credible police force.
During the meeting, it became clear that for people deciding to give the commitment to CRJ, there are personal benefits alongside the benefits for the wider community. At its core, CRJ training is about developing the skills many people, especially republicans, already have and about increasing self-confidence in analysing situations while allowing the parties to the case to identify problems and solutions themselves.

But for those becoming involved, it's not just all about mediation. People are needed to help administrate the scheme, to help with training, to help liaise with different groups so that the referral part of the CRJ work - directing people towards different types of community projects or educational projects or support groups - runs smoothly and to help inform people in the community about what CRJ can realistically achieve.

One point that came out of the meeting was the need to destroy the myth gaining ground that CRJ is an alternative to a police force. It is not. CRJ is a new way of dealing with problems, it is comparatively cost-effective and it tackles the causes behind crime or anti-social behaviour, the breakdown in the relationships connecting people within a community. It treats people respectfully as equal individuals but it is not a about being an alternative to a credible police force.

The second myth that needs to be challenged is that CRJ is only concerned with dealing with young people as `the problem'. It is not. As became abundantly evident at the meeting, problems in the community have just as much to do with the behaviour of adults as that of young people.

With CRJ schemes up and running in the Upper Springfield and Twinbrook and Poleglass areas of West Belfast, the New Lodge in North Belfast, and in Derry, and with schemes in the pipeline for the Short Strand in East Belfast, the Falls and Beechmount in West Belfast and South Armagh, the current initiative is the largest in Ireland and one of the largest operating in Europe. But resourcing has become a major concern. Funds are limited, and central co-ordinator Jim Auld is being inundated with requests from areas wanting to develop the scheme. There is, therefore, a squeeze between continuing to service the established schemes and helping the different local areas to develop their own CRJ schemes.

CRJ also brings into perspective the imbalance of resources within the current criminal justice system. Most of the money is currently spent reacting to crime and on a retributive system. By comparison, tiny amounts are spent on resolving problems in a long-term way. Sinn Féin Councillor Marie Moore is currently pushing for the implementation of legislation in the Six Counties similar to that in the 26 counties, where criminal assets from dealing drugs seized by the state are fed back into community-based programmes to deal with drug awareness and drug abuse.

People wishing to find out more about getting involved with a Community Restorative Justice scheme near them should contact Jim Auld on (01232) 301521. Training is starting this week in the Upper Springfield area.

Next week, Ned Kelly talks to two CRJ team members who have been the driving force behind the scheme in Upper Springfield, West Belfast.


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