By Roy Sanford, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
IN LOOKING at a possible solution to the nation's escalating crime problem, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Carol Palmer, is advocating 'restorative justice.'
"Restorative justice is a process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific offence and to collectively identify and address harms, needs, and obligations in order to heal and put things as right as possible," she told The Gleaner. "It is the process of putting a human face on the justice system," she added.
'RETRIBUTIVE'
According to Mrs. Palmer, at present Jamaica's justice system is 'retributive' in nature, allows little space for rehabilitation and does not take into consideration the victims of crime. "What determines justice is the rule of law," she explained. "You commit a crime, the police takes you to court and the court makes a determination whether you are guilty or not. The victim (of the crime) has nothing to say, unless maybe to give evidence."
She said that in using the restorative justice model the role of the entire community is recognised and all parties in an issue have a role to play in bringing it (the issue) to the fore.
"Let's say, for example, you rape me," she said. "Using the restorative justice model I meet with you in the presence of members of the community such as Justices of the Peace or trained mediators, and let you realise this is what you have done to me and this is how I feel about it. This gets the offender to recognise the act and recognise the wrong that was committed." She said such an approach allows room for rehabilitation and both the victim and the offender benefits.
Mrs. Palmer, however, cautioned that restorative justice alone is not the answer the nation's crime problem. "It is not a panacea and I am not saying that we should throw away the courts and our present justice system," she noted. "All I am saying is that it is something that can be used in certain matters and can help under certain circumstances." She said the model has been introduced in the Corporate Area communities of Trench Town and Grants Pen as well as Flankers in Montego Bay, where there are formally established Peace and Justice Centres. Some work has been done in Mountain View and August Town and the response has been "good and encouraging," the Permanent Secretary added.
