Trust's cases grow after law change

Restorative Justice's Anne Pankhurst says referrals have gone from seven to 30 a week.

Tauranga's Restorative Justice Trust says it is "ramping up" its resources to cope with an "exponential" increase in demand for its services resulting from a recent law change.

A change in the Sentencing Act, which came into force on December 6, means every case where a victim is identified must be referred for a restorative justice conference.

Restorative justice changes have caused extra delays in some courts around the country, but it is early days in Tauranga, according to some Bay lawyers and Tauranga Moana Restorative Justice Trust chairwoman Anne Pankhurst.

Ms Pankhurst said since the law change referrals had risen from seven to 30 a week: "The Trust's workload has increased exponentially as would be expected with the increase in referrals, and we are recruiting a manager, two extra full-time facilitators and six to eight contract facilitators to help meet the demand," she said. The trust currently had 50-60 cases on its books.

If a victim was easily locatable, willing to participate in the process, and available, most restorative justice meetings could take place within three to four weeks, she said.

Tauranga courts allowed six to eight weeks for the Trust to file its report.

Ms Pankhurst said it was difficult for the Trust to know what the true implications of such a dramatic law change would be on its workload going forward. "I don't think the Ministry of Justice even knows itself," she said.

Ms Pankhurst said accreditation and training of extra facilitators took time, but in the coming months the Trust would be "ramping up" its resources, including a greater presence in court.

Tauranga criminal barrister Tony Rickard-Simms said the Trust was doing a "fantastic job". Mr Rickard-Simms said he hadn't noticed the law change impacting on any of his cases, or heard other lawyers complaining about delays, but said it was still early days.

Tauranga criminal barrister Rita Nabney said the concept was excellent. "But the true effects on our local courts are yet to be seen," she said.

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams has asked the Ministry of Justice to monitor the way the changes were working, the number of referrals and how long cases were taking.

Sensible Sentencing Trust spokesman Garth McVicar has slammed the law change, saying the justice system had become "offender orientated".

Some facts about Tauranga Moana Restorative Justice Trust

* It is a registered charity governed by a voluntary board.

* All members of the trust are independent of the court process.

* Restorative justice conferences are: facilitated by two independent facilitators; held in neutral, safe, controlled venues; and aim to provide a chance for victims and offenders to talk about what happened, and what needs to be done to put things right. Both victim and offender can bring along support people