Peace over punishment
Punishment has long been integral to Kiwis’ sense of justice. But those pursuing restorative remedies find healing more empowering than punitive action, writes Alex Loo.
The best restorative justice meetings are the ones where Rodney Holm does the least talking. He is there to help the two parties understand each other and share their stories, not tell them how to feel.
Holm, from the Manawatu¯ Restorative Justice Trust, has been involved with restorative justice for 10 years.
In that time, he has dealt with offending from theft to fatal car crashes, and has seen mixed results from its use.
But he believes in the power and purpose of restorative justice.
Holm recalls a case where a young man caused a car crash that killed his female passenger, who he had met only hours earlier.
‘‘He found himself isolated, all his friends turned against him, no-one would talk to him ... how is such a person going to put it right? No-one’s coming back to life.’’
Holm worked with the family of the young woman to find some way forward for the two parties. It turned out to be the man doing some work around their farm.
At first the young man was shocked by the proposition. He thought the woman’s family would want him to be ‘‘locked up’’, Holm says.
It presented a positive result for both parties, and an ideal outcome for Holm. Unfortunately, this resolution never came about and the young man was put in jail.
‘‘He [the judge] killed the whole thing, stone dead.’’
The judge wanted to impose a prison sentence to act as a deterrent against drink-driving, despite police and the victim’s family being in favour of a community based sentence. They believed having the man work in the community would act as a reminder of the consequences of drink-driving.
Holm sees a ‘‘tension’’ between the punitive values of the court system and the values of restorative justice.
He thinks New Zealand’s attitude toward justice needs to change.
‘‘The whole notion of punishment is deeply embedded in the New Zealand psyche and we aren’t the only country that suffers from that.’’
Restorative justice is still a relatively new process in New Zealand. It was first introduced in 2000.
In the 2016/2017 financial year, 10,697 of the 137,153 cases that went through the courts were directed to restorative justice. Of these cases, 2401 conferences were completed.
A restorative justice conference is an informal, mediated meeting between victims of crime and those who committed the crime. There are often support people present, and the victim can choose to have a representative attend on their behalf.
For victims and offenders alike, restorative justice can be a means to let go of pent-up emotions.
A lapse in concentration on a Tuesday afternoon in 2017 meant Joanna Tarai failed to give way and crashed into another car, driven by an older woman.
Tarai was distraught. The healthcare assistant was convinced that no punishment from the courts would be enough to ease the guilt she felt. She wanted to participate in restorative justice but had no idea what to expect.
Meeting the victim and being able to apologise in person was a ‘‘massive’’ relief. Tarai was surprised at how friendly and forgiving the other woman was. ‘‘She gave me a smile that reassured me.’’
Jim Cook found himself at a similar meeting in June 2017, except he was sitting on the other side of the table.
He was driving his truck when it was was hit at a roundabout when someone failed to give way.
Cook, who works at Ohakea as an airfield environmental officer, was ‘‘pretty p ..... off’’. But through restorative justice, he managed to find common ground with the offender, who turned out to be as much of a car lover as he was.
‘‘He felt sorry and I felt sorry for him.’’
Cook said meeting the man responsible helped him more than the court process, as it allowed him to let go of his anger, though it ‘‘took a bit of getting over’’.
The two men still stop and chat when they see each other on the street.
While the courts have been slow to believe in restorative justice, District Court Judge Lance Rowe from Palmerston North thinks the tide is turning.
Restorative justice has been included in legislation since 2002, so judges have to acknowledge participation in restorative justice conferences during sentencing.
‘‘It has required a culture shift for almost everyone involved in the criminal justice system, judges included.’’
He says restorative justice gives offenders and victims the opportunity to hear each other’s stories directly ‘‘within managed and safe boundaries’’.
A recent case that went through his court involved a young teenager who had been assaulted by a man in his early 20s.
The victim was afraid to be in public and had totally lost confidence.
Rowe says the offender recognised the harm caused and apologised, in turn restoring the victim’s confidence and sense of safety.
‘‘It’s a process that can restore in ways that don’t even occur to people.’’
The Sensible Sentencing Trust is one of the most vocal advocates against New Zealand’s restorative justice framework.
Trustee Leigh Woodman is sceptical about its effectiveness, especially in cases of violent crime.
The trust’s work is personal for Woodman – her 15-year-old daughter Vanessa was sexually assaulted and murdered in 1997.
‘‘How can you restore my daughter? There is nothing they can say or do to bring back my child.’’
She thinks it is too easy for offenders to cheat the system and get time off their sentence ‘‘like supermarket discounts’’.
The trust’s restorative justice policy states that it should only be available post-sentencing, so it has no effect on the sentence.
Woodman says restorative justice should only occur at the victim’s request, and should not be offered to them at any stage of the court process.
From his experience, Rowe says organisers of restorative justice conferences are ‘‘no fools’’ and can tell whether someone’s intentions are genuine, and make that clear in their reports.
Regardless of why the offender is attending the conference, they still have to face the family and loved ones of their victim, and listen to their side of the story.
Although the use of restorative justice is fairly uncommon in more serious crimes, Rowe does not see a limit to the circumstances where it can be used effectively.
‘‘I think its [restorative justice] greatest limitation is the extent to which it’s understood by the general public. I think the general public still see crime and punishment as this system that is supposed to fix anything.’’