Restorative justice (RJ) is a cheaper and more effective alternative to the current justice system. It puts victims at the heart of the process. It brings those harmed by crime or conflict and those responsible for the harm into communication, enabling everyone affected by a particular incident to play a part in repairing the harm and finding a positive way forward. This is part of a wider field called restorative practice.

The West Midlands has recently established an RJ Service.

Claire Elwell, who is in charge of RJ provision in Coventry, is very keen to promote public awareness of RJ.

She would like to recruit RJ Ambassadors who would be trained to talk to people about RJ and make them more aware of what RJ is and how to access the service. These could be students at schools or university, members of a community or anyone who cares about Restorative Justice.

For example, they could organise and attend monthly Pop-Up sessions which Claire would attend. These would be like a walk-in session where people with problems could raise issues and get advice.

Anyone interested should contact Claire Elwell at cv_restorativejustice@west-midlands.pnn.police.uk

For more information about RJ in Coventry see the Coventry RJ website.