Restorative Justice approaches to criminal justice are proliferating both in the juvenile and in the adult system.  A recent one day symposium on 'Measures Alternative to Prosecution' at City University presented information on youth justice responses in seven countries and a common theme throughout was the emphasis on restorative measures as the ones of greatest promise for the reduction of reoffending, repair of harm and reintegration of offenders and communities. Restorative justice is also being used increasingly in adult systems of criminal justice in New Zealand.  The results of one research study have already been published and further research is underway on a Government sponsored pilot.  Underlying these developments is an endorsement of restorative justice developments from the United Nations 10th Crime Congress and the development of international standards for programmes.  This paper briefly describes the above developments and comment on them.
 
 

Date: Tuesday, 25 March 2003

Time: 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Senior Officers' Mess, Caine House, 6/F,
             Police Headquarters, Arsenal Street, Wanchai
 

Dr. Gabrielle Maxwell is a psychologist and criminologist. She has a distinguished academic record involving both research and consultancy. She provides policy advice to the United Nations and to Governmental and non-Governmental organisations both within New Zealand and internationally. She is frequently sought as a speaker at international conferences. Until recently, she has been Director of the Crime and Justice Research Centre at Victoria University of Wellington and is currently on leave as a Visiting Fellow at City University, Hong Kong. Previous posts have been with the Office of the Commissioner for Children, the Department for Justice and at the University of Otago. In recent years, much of her research has focused on restorative justice in general and the New Zealand youth justice system in particular. She has published widely on topics relating to restorative justice, youth justice, family violence, crime prevention and children's rights. Her most recent book is a collection of papers edited with Allison Morris entitled Family Group Conferences: Perspectives on Policy and Practice. With colleagues, she has recently completed a major study on "Achieving effective outcomes in youth justice in New Zealand" which will be published later this year.