Restorative justice plan expands

Wairarapa Restorative Services is eager to develop and expand its services in the region.

Co-ordinator/ facilitator Lynnette Te Maari-Whata said the organisation wanted to make more people in the region familiar with the initiative.

Wairarapa Restorative Services was developed by Mrs Te Maari-Whata, who worked on a pilot restorative scheme in Rotorua some years ago, and Family Works general manager Julia Hennessy. Business manager Andrea Darby was also influential in formulating policies and procedures.

The programme was rolled out in Wairarapa in 2011. To date only 12 people have been referred to the service but Mrs Te Maari-Whata is keen to promote the services and increase this number to 30 by March 2014.

To let people know about the services, the organisation is holding a launch on Monday evening at the Copthorne Hotel, Solway at 5.30pm. Judges, police officers, lawyers, business owners and members of the public are expected to attend.

"A lot of people are unsure of the process and the benefits of it which is why we're doing this big launch," Mrs Te Maari-Whata said. "But nationwide there's lots of little differences being made all over the country."

She said one notable example of restorative justice in the Wairarapa involved a prominent gang member who met one of his burglary victims, a local mother, through the programme.

"He didn't mind going through the process but he was a tough guy," Mrs Te Maari-Whata said. "They had a talk and the victim told him how the kids had felt and how they were very very scared and didn't even want to go and have a bath at night time after they had broken in. When he heard that he cried."

Wairarapa Restorative Services is funded by The Tindall Foundation and Family Works presbyterian support initiative based at Featherston. Kahungunu iwi and Family Works have also collaborated on the programme.

"We've got a way to go to [educate] the community," Mrs Te Maari-Whata said. "It's not about revictimising the victim. It's about coming to a happy conclusion."

Mrs Te Maari-Whata hoped the launch would be the beginning of a new era for the service.

Ben Fox, a new addition to the organisation as a facilitator, along with two other new recruits, believes the scheme could have a major impact on offenders.

"I suppose the purpose around it all is to stop reoffending," he said.

"Once they go through the experience they [realise] I'm not going to do this again."