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.
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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.
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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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