Public order offences and other less serious crimes could be dealt with using restorative justice instead of threatening offenders with jail, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said yesterday.
He was speaking at the launch of the National Commission on Restorative Justice which will examine ways of introducing more community-based sanctions for offenders into the criminal justice system.
The commission, chaired by Judge Mary Martin of the District Court, includes members of the Probation Service, Garda Síochána and Court Service.
Restorative justice is a relatively new introduction to the modern justice system, although it has its roots in the old Brehon laws. It involves making the perpetrator of a crime face up to the harm they have caused and offers them a chance to undo the harm caused by crime.
In general, it works by encouraging victims and offenders to participate in a mediation process, leading in most cases to an agreed contract which can include personal commitments and reparation by the offender.
It could also offer considerable cost savings by offering an alternative to detention in jail.
An individual prison place costs about €80,000 a year, while restorative justice costs a fraction of that amount.
Rejecting suggestions that the public might see the move as a "soft touch", Mr McDowell said restorative justice could result in offences being dealt with more quickly and with more immediate results. "I think the public want to know [after a crime has been committed] that something is happening. I think there is a public appetite for an approach involving immediate reparation, rather than a delayed theoretical custodial approach."
Mr McDowell said while it would not replace the sanction of imprisonment for serious offences, restorative justice may provide a better way of identifying those who should be imprisoned and those who can make some form of reparation.
Judge Martin, speaking at the launch of the commission, said there was a remarkably low rate of recidivism among offenders who appeared before her in the District Court and who were offered alternatives to prison such as engagement in drug or alcohol counselling or completing meaningful charitable works. Judge Martin estimated that, in the case of public-order offenders, the recidivism rate was as low as 1 per cent.
At present just two projects - in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, and Tallaght, Dublin - are being funded by the State. However, this is likely to increase once the newly-formed commission makes its recommendations to government.
Its terms of reference include reviewing the performance of restorative justice developments at home and abroad; and examining research-based evidence regarding the effects of different restorative justice models.