If restorative justice is to work in Jamaica, there will have to be a change in the cultural outlook of Jamaicans. This is the view of Dr Jermaine McCalpin, lecturer in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies (UWI).

McCalpin further said that for the initiative to work, it would need the involvement of communities, as well as governmental support.

He was speaking yesterday at the Hilton hotel, New Kingston, where the final day of the second annual Restorative Justice International Conference was being held.

The conference, which also brought an end to the second annual 'Restorative Justice Week', was attended by several stakeholders from civic and governmental sectors of the island, in addition to consultants from Canada.

It's not an event

McCalpin said he believed restorative justice could take hold in Jamaica, but it was not something that would happen immediately, but over time. "Restorative justice is a process. It's not an event. It's not 'OK, I forgive you and all is well with the world'," he said.

Restorative justice is a process in which victims are involved in mediation, the trial and even the sentencing of offenders. It is viewed as a means of bringing the victims' rights to the fore, and at the same time, getting perpetrators to accept responsibility for their actions. It also seeks to get the offender to apologise, separate from punishment he or she might have received through the justice system.

McCalpin, who compared Jamaica's approach to adopting restorative justice principles to the African countries of South Africa and Rwanda, said such an initiative could only take place in Jamaica if it was community-based.

"It's unlikely that restorative justice will be a viabl or a viable integration into the criminal justice system if it doesn't function at the level of the community."