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process is established in policy or in agreements. The way the offer is
made to a victim and offender to participate in a restorative justice pro-
gramme is very important, whether made by police officers, made by a
police officer familiar with the programme, a counsellor, a victim service
worker or a respected community member
Because the success of any restorative justice programme is dependent to
a great extent upon receiving suitable referrals, the referral process should
be enhanced by ongoing consultations and by communication campaign
to encourage justice personnel to refer appropriate cases to a restorative
programme and by proactively seeking cases via a search of agency files.
The Basic Principles (para. 7 and 9) identifies three major criteria for
designing a referral process within the criminal justice system:
앫
Sufficient evidence: The referral should only by made where there
is sufficient evidence to charge the offender;
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Consent: The referral should only be made with the free and volun-
tary consent of both the victim and the offender. At the time of the
initial referral, however, the consent of both parties may not have
as yet been determined and that securing that consent then becomes
the first pre-requisite to be met before proceeding any further.
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Power imbalances and cultural differences: Disparities leading
to power imbalances, as well as cultural differences among the par-
ties, should be taken into consideration in referring a case to a
restorative process. In cases where the referral is made in spite of
potential power imbalances, this fact must be brought to the atten-
tion of the programme facilitators and must be taken into consid-
eration in the conduct of the restorative process. Referrals criteria,
procedures and forms should be designed in such a way that they
facilitate the examination of this factor by those responsible and
accountable for the referral decision. In some cases, it may be incum-
bent on the referring agency to exercise due diligence and to estab-
lish that a referral to a community-based process is not placing the
victim or the offender at risk of victimization or intimidation.
Poor referral mechanisms and poor referral rates are often responsible for
the poor performance or the failure of restorative justice programmes. As
was just mentioned there are different ways in which programme man-
agers can promote effective referrals from the community and from the
various levels of the criminal justice system.
Specific interagency protocols can be established preferably in advance of
launching the programme, or as the latter is being designed. These proto-
cols can guide the selection of cases for referral and set out eligibility crite-
ria. It will also determine the procedures to be followed in various
circumstances (e.g. when the consent of one of the parties cannot be
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