Khulisa are delighted to be part of the first ever pan-London Restorative Justice Service. Restore:London is a 2-year project, funded by MOPAC and led by a consortium of companies (Catch 22, Restorative Solutions, Khulisa, IARS). Khulisa performs an important role as the Innovation Lab. Our function covers 4 workstreams that support programme delivery – the implementation of restorative leadership and values within the consortium, provision of best practice research, communications interface and trauma-informed practice. The programme was launched to the public in April 2017 and has secured 79 referrals (as of May 2017). This is a very exciting project that has the potential for innovation within the restorative justice/restorative practice sector in London.
The consortium partners bring expertise in building and evaluating victim-led services, restorative justice delivery, delivering pan London programmes, offender management and criminal justice innovation.
The Restore:London service will be available in all 32 London Boroughs, and will be offered to all victims of crime if the offence took place in London and/or if they are currently living in London. The service will also be available to victims at any stage of the Criminal Justice System (i.e. the offence could have occurred many years in the past).
"Restorative Justice brings those harmed by crime or conflict and those responsible for the harm into communication, enabling everyone affected by a particular incident to play a part in repairing the harm and finding a positive way forward"
The initiative was commissioned by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan in August 2016 who pledged £1.3m to support victims of crime, in an attempt to reduce reoffending rates and help victims recover and move on with their lives.
The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime continue to be heavily involved and looks forward to sharing the insights and results of this ground-breaking project with the wider sector, including Police and Crime Commissioners across England with responsibility for commissioning victim services.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:
"I want to put the needs of victims at the heart of London’s criminal justice process. Crime of any kind can have a devastating, lasting effect on victims, and it’s my duty as Mayor to do what I can to make London safer and prevent as many people as possible needlessly becoming victims of crime. We need to both punish and reform offenders. At the moment, if victims’ needs are considered at all, it’s an afterthought and many offenders go on to reoffend.”
Get in touch
Victims’ advocates, restorative justice practitioners and interested organisations should get in touch with Khulisa’s Programme Director and Restorative Justice expert, Lisa Rowles (lrowles@khulisa.co.uk)
