Restorative Justice

Much of the Partnership’s work supports ways in which people can be brought together to seek solutions to the problems of crime both inside and outside the criminal justice system – these include restorative justice, mediation and conflict resolution. 

The Partnership convened a Thames Valley wide Restorative Justice Development Group in the late 1990s. This group was instrumental in disseminating best practice and creating the ‘ supportive’ multi agency context that led to subsequent ground breaking initiatives.  

In 2001 the former Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Probation Service (subsequently Thames Valley Probation) became a lead partner in the Home Office funded random controlled trials of restorative justice.  On completion of the research project the legacy was the creation of the Thames Valley Restorative Justice Service  (TVRJS) under the auspices of Thames Valley Probation.   Under this stewardship TVRJS consolidated and developed an international reputation as a centre of excellence in the field of post sentence restorative justice with serious adult offenders. 

In 2011, in recognition of the changing landscape in the criminal justice system, the governance of TVRJS was transferred from the statutory sector (Thames Valley Probation) to the voluntary sector (Thames Valley  Partnership).  TVRJS fits perfectly with the values and charitable objects of  the  Partnership and we are committed to developing further the range and reach of high quality restorative justice interventions for the benefit of both offenders and victims. 

Read up to date information from the Restorative Justice Consortium

See also Creating Confidence in Criminal Justice