My Lords, this amendment is grouped with Amendments 27, 27A, 28 and 29. The group is separated by Amendment 26, which is to be moved by
the noble Lord, Lord Marks, and others after we have dealt with these amendments. As I have said before, I welcome this Bill’s emphasis on the rehabilitation of offenders. Those who have been involved in the criminal justice system as long as I have are in no doubt that reoffending is one of the most serious problems that it faces. We have been, until now, extremely unsuccessful in tackling it. Here and there, we have made some progress, often because of initiatives not of the big battalions but of the small ones, which concentrate on conduct directed towards the offender which changes his habits. We know, from experience, that employment, the home and the family are all important elements in determining whether reoffending will take place.
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One of the improvements that have occurred in that field in recent times is restorative justice. To hear me talk about restorative justice in this Chamber is nothing new. We have made progress thanks to, among others, the opposition Front Bench, and I am delighted that I speak with the support of the noble Lord, Lord Beecham, who joins me in making the proposals in certain of the amendments in this group. We are also grateful for the Government’s change in emphasis in relation to restorative justice. They now accept that it is something which has qualified to appear in legislation and, indeed, to be part of the panoply of action which can be taken to deal with offending.
The most important aspect about restorative justice is that it is strongly supported by victims who have experienced what it can achieve. My most important point in support of these amendments is that victims find that restorative justice does more for them than probably anything else that happens within the criminal justice system. Because the increased status of restorative justice is only recent, legislation was passed in 2003—the Criminal Justice Act—which made no mention of it. If one looks at both Sections 177 and 190 of that Act, one finds a menu of actions which can be taken by a court to help ensure that what happens in court achieves a cessation of reoffending. The amendments I am speaking to now are simply designed to remedy, or bring up to date, those provisions by ensuring that one of the programmes that can be availed is restorative justice and designed to do so in a way which will achieve the maximum benefit.
Amendment 29 proposes adding a new Section 212A to the 2003 Act, which would give,
“an opportunity to a victim or victims to talk about, or by other means express experience of, the offending and its impact”.
We have learnt that the fact that victims have that opportunity to face the offender and give them their views, if they wish to do so, is one of the most important elements in the success of restorative justice. In those circumstances, I urge the Minister to look sympathetically upon these amendments.
In considering what his action should be, perhaps I may be bold enough to give the Minister the benefit, I hope, of my experience in trying to achieve a change in culture. I believe that the Act, which we hope this Bill will become, dealing with offender rehabilitation requires a change of culture. You will attain a change of culture only if those in the criminal justice system
give you their support. The first of those is the victims. If victims do not believe that this programme is to their benefit, they will not support it. In addition to victims, it is also important that the Bill has the confidence of those who have to apply it in the magistracy and the more senior courts. I should also mention, wearing my hat as life president of the Butler Trust, those who work in our prisons. They do not get much praise, but the Butler Trust gives them praise when it is deserved, and it is important that they should see what is proposed here as beneficial to the criminal justice system.
With the support of the main players in the criminal justice system, the Bill can achieve a great deal. Bringing in restorative justice in the places proposed in these amendments will help to achieve that end.