Will 2012 be the year that the truth of the October 2010 Hastings Pier Fire comes out?

"The Truth Will Out" in 2012 (some say). Perhaps we have to wait longer before people are sufficiently ready (and supported) to talk?

So meanwhile, here's some of the 2011 highlights with campaigning for a "more caring and sharing Hastings & St Leonards", some brushes with local celebs (notably Sue Coates) and some personal disclosure and opportunity to understand more of why getting justice in Hastings is so deeply linked to my own story and what I want for those who were on the pier that fateful/fortuitous night!

Here's a flashback to the night of the fire (with Jeremy Birch):

& here's a bit more background (again as The 'Man of Many T-shirts'):

And now I search for another 'Man of Many T-shirts' this is what I've found:

Community Engagement and Development ideas -as applied to Hastings Pier

USING A STAKEHOLDER MAP
(Material adapted from that received on a course from the University of Sussex Centre for Community Engagement)

Community development workers and community activists involved in projects often feel that they are being pulled in several different directions - they seem to have to work with, and be accountable to, many bodies and have expectations placed upon them. It is useful, therefore, to map out where the potential tensions lie.

1. Make a Stakeholder Map:

Choose ONE issue e.g. the redevelopment of a pier and surrounding area with community regeneration aims:
Who are the active people already wanting to be consulted?
Who are the silent people whose views ought to be sought?
How much power do they have and what authority do they have to make decisions?
What is their level of concern about the specific issue
Is there a lead person or organisation who has responsibility for delivering the project?

Draw out your map as in the film above.
***********************************
The stages of group formation & function are reflected on below:

Restating the Paul Crosland personal mission statement & publishing what the Observer did not

I give my service to generating a more caring & sharing Hastings & St Leonards.

In doing this I'm learning & practising inclusivity and happiness.

I moved to St Leonards because the arrestees after Hastings Pier Fire were from St Leonards; addressing all these wounds is a driving force for me.

I hope my work contributes to creating a town in which no-one wants to set light to any buildings.

In working towards this goal, I treat people ('arsonist' or otherwise) with respect and dignity.

Paul Crosland 

(November 2011)

*****************************

Publishing what the Observer did not:
Dear Editor

My interest in the pier fire, which prompted me (and the organisations I head) to move to St Leonards, is not so much in finding someone to blame as in encouragaging the relevant young people in this community TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.

It seems unlikely that those who were on the pier on 5th October 2010 will come forward to take responsibility until some combination of the following occurs:
1) A deeper understanding of why talking truthfully about what happened matters so much to a (growing?) number of us.
2) A conscience that recognises that a better way to deal with things is to "come clean".
3) An awareness that many others in this community model how to take responsibility (eg for things they "got away with" that have nonetheless left deep wounds) & that actually taking responsibility works well for all.
4) They stop using excuses about others' as a way to deny the need to  take responsibility. (In Criminology these excuses are called the 4 techniques of neutralisation)
5) Hearing fewer voices from those who are only saying what they want FROM those who were on the pier (e.g. those who want further suffering as retribution)
6) Hearing more about what others want FOR those who were on the pier e.g. opportunities for a life that values your skills, determination and wish to live a meaningful life, living harmoniously within your chosen community.
7) Something that sufficiently addresses your fear of talking out about what happened, so that you take courage and do it before someone else reveals your painful secret.
Kind regards
Paul Crosland

CEO Mediation Support & the main blogger on (healing) the pier fire (here at www.sussexcommunity.blogspot.com)

Hastings Truth & Reconciliation Commission

The HASTINGS TRUTH & RECONCILIATION COMMISSION was an idea that came up around the anniversary of the fire; more of which can be found on http://agoodweek.info and on this most inspiring of 3 videos recorded on the second weekend of October 2010 without showing the face of my interviewee:

3)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tgL1OAesYo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Now, Here are some of the videos shown at the Public Meetings around the 1st Anniversary of the Pier Fire in Hastings. (The fire was on 5th October 2010 -see sussexcommunity.blogspot.com)

PAUL WELCOMES THE ATTENDEES  & the two group introductions - a police officer and a foreigner from Hastings

The work being done in restorative Justice under the umbrella of "St Leonards Sharing" Consortium is sustainable if you register on the NatWest site and then click to support us.http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/5827

That address again for supporting "St Leonards Sharing" is http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/5827">here
1) Maria Arpa

2) Burning Bridges [The 35 minute film from the IIRP]

[& see http://sussexcommunity.blogspot.com/2011/01/screening-of-bridges-dvd-with-pier.html]
3) Discussing the viewpoint that "Restorative Justice is no alternative to Justice"

4)Jo Nodding on Restorative Justice

5)
6) Police Community Resolutions and the idea of a community bridging fund:


*****************************************************************
The films recorded at the 5th October meeting:
Film 1 of 4 (at top of this page)
Film 2 of 4:

Film 3 of 4:

Film 4 of 4:


*****************************************************************
And the first 2 films of Kier on the Pier
1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWbuOEGb0j8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

2)


**********
and a film I recorded 4 months before setting up the "St Leonards Sharing" Consortium:

Please now register your interest in "a more caring and sharing Hastings & St Leonards" here:
http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/p/stleonardssharing.html

We need your votes to set up a Timebank (& run a Hastings & St Leonards Truth & Reconciliation Commission on the side)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWQ7VNrlePs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Booking to attend the 1st anniversary film and discussion on 5th or 8th October

Any problems with filling this in to book your place? Just phone or text Paul on 0780-70-66-202 or add a comment below. See you at the screenings/discussions.

The banner I intend to arrange to be hung on the pier:

The banner I intend to arrange to be hung on the pier:

"St Leonards Sharing" Consortium asks:
What does the pier, as it is at present, symbolise to you?

To us it symbolises a deep wound in the creation of a more caring & sharing community.
www.sussexcommunity.blogspot.com
& www.stleonardssharing.info

August Riots & Hastings Faith in the Criminal Justice System

Hastings & St Leonards didn't have a riot in August this year, as far as I am aware. Perhaps we had one on October 5th last year?; we won't know until we know what the intentions were of those on the pier that night. The 5th October 2010 was, in the words of one contributor to this blog, a night when "the heart was ripped out of Hastings".

• Does using a word like "riot" really help anyway?
• How many people does it take to start a riot?
• What kind of attention does a riot get?
• Is the attention that riots get the kind of attention that addresses the underlying rifts in the society or not?

If 5th October 2010, for all it's excitement, wasn't a riot, I wonder whether it's the closest thing that Hastings has had to a riot, in that it is a focus of much public concern and calls for justice.
(The Hastings Justice Facebook Group is here)

Some people like to save the word 'conflict' for situations of intense physical violence whereas I find it a useful word whenever someone does something I don't like - a conflict of some sort now exists between what I want and what they did that was contrary to that.
The August Riots in London, Birmingham and Manchester are important conflicts, just as 5th October 2010 looks to me like an important conflict in Hastings' history.

What prompted me to make such a controversial link between the August riots and the fire on the pier? It was this email that I received that prompted me in making this link between the two. The correspondent wrote:

"The nation is divided on the rights and wrongs of punishing the rioters. My mother in law apparently nearly came to blows over it. Once the names and pictures of the pier arsonists are published I will begin to regain my faith on British Justice and not before."

My view is that one of the things that matters greatly, both for the future of Hastings & St Leonards, and for the future of the cities of London, Birmingham & Manchester, is that in the wake of these conflicts we learn something about the underlying causes and, as responsible citizens, each become part of the solution.
How we do this will be discussed on the anniversary of the Pier Fire (Wednesday 5th October 2011 at 7.30pm, (venue to be announced) & again on Saturday 8th October. Further enquires about attending these  opportunities to become part of the solution via the Mediation Support Ltd contact form please (Here).

Here's the link to the Panorama programme, the intro to which is as follow "The worst civil unrest for decades has led to tens of millions of pounds of damage, dozens of injured policemen and wide-scale looting as gangs of youths have rampaged through London and other major cities. Panorama tells the full story of the August riots and asks what has led a generation to violence.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b013xy9t/Panorama_The_August_Riots/

The most important part of this film was perhaps the brief account of how the riots ended:


These days I find myself singing to myself this old song called "Riot on Eastbourne Pier":

Addendum (7th September): Sense with hindsight:

The link below is to the most encouraging article I've seen about criminal justice reform for years; especially if people realise that it implies that a Restorative Justice system comes first, and the criminal justice system is residual and just supportive of that. AND ALL THIS IN THE LONDON EVENING STANDARD!

London riots were a wake-up call for criminal justice system

Amber Rudd (MP), Jon Djanogly (Minister for Courts) & pier fire anniversary events

I'm now sharing two letters (on two consecutive days a month ago) from the local MP, Amber Rudd, about the process of getting a community justice process in Hastings for those on the pier on 5th October last year.
It is hoped that at least one of those on the pier last year will write a letter to at least one of the 'victims' of that fire, so that it can be read out at the anniversary meetings:

Wednesday 5th October 7.30pm-10pm*
Film: Burning Bridges
(Followed by a discussion on what community justice looks like in Hastings/St Leonards)

SAME AGAIN; ONLY DIFFERENT
Saturday 8th October 7.30pm-10pm*

Film: Burning Bridges

(Followed by a discussion on what community justice looks like in Hastings/St Leonards)

"Some years before I became a Criminologist, with a Masters Degree in Criminology from Cambridge University, I was a foolish young man at Oxford Polytechnic, where, amongst other things, I threw away my would be degree in Business Studies; focussing instead on political activism. Also politically active there was Jon Djanogly, now the minister for courts, so it will no doubt be an interesting set of correspondence or meetings that I have with him to advance the mediation process in Hastings / St Leonards in relation to the pier fire." (Paul Crosland, CEO, Mediation Support Ltd)

 Jonathan Djanogly's much appreciated initiatives in advancing mediation in divorce law are reported by the BBC here; the main issue I have here though, is the exclusion of mediation work in Domestic Violence cases.
Here I disagree with the non-Domestic Violence view expressed by my colleague Maria in this interview on the Vanessa show:

To understand what role mediation can play in generating safety (& clarity) for family members in Domestic Violence cases may require a longer period of time than a TV programme like this can give it, and the case for mediation for all conflicts (other than those where 'the protective use of force' is required urgently) may better be progressed a stage at a time.

*Venue for both events to be announced in accordance with bookings

They've got away with it?

Someone said to me that those who were on the pier last 5th October have got away with it. I seriously don't believe this for a second. I reckon they are suffering what we all suffer when we don't process our conflicts.
Another response to "they've got away with it" is that "No, Hastings & St Leonards communities simply haven't yet agreed a plan of action about how to get the justice they want."
Join in that process here, via the blog http://hastingsjustice.blogspot.com, at www.peoplesjustice.org.uk and/or via the Hastings Justice Facebook page.

restorative justice update for the HPWRT in June 2011

Restorative Justice update for the Pier Trustees -June 2011
(written by Paul Crosland, Mediation Support Ltd)

In brief, restorative justice seeks to:

• Repair harm
• Restore dignity of individuals
• Re-integrate all into peaceful co-existence

The restorative processes that enable the best outcomes are when people communicate
1.what happened?
2.what they were trying to do when it happened?
3.how they can see ways in the future to improve the safety and well-being of all individuals whom those in communication actually care about.

The process of communication can be expected to widen the range of people whom those participating care about and to be a source of creative, unforeseen, ways forward, which build a stronger community and less chance of others' “victimisation”.

All organisations and ad-hoc gatherings of people have a way of doing justice. Restorative Justice here in Hastings opens a wider enquiry into what justice means to each of us, how much of it is delivered in community and how much is provided by the state. With no-one being charged for the pier fire, clearly there is a sense that the state's provision of justice has let the community down.

The 3rd June 2011 Hastings Observer, on page 20, reported Cllr Godfrey Daniel suggesting that
"if a witness statement about the impact of the crime on all those affected was taken, it would be 'longer than most books in the universe'"
In the 10th June 2011 Hastings Observer, my reply letter: ”We need to act if we want justice”  reported that I have been actively collecting victim impact statements. Ray recorded his as well and it is posted at http://sussexcommunity.blogspot.com/2011/06/longest-book-never-written.html

(NB To see the full text of the 10th June Observer letter, you get this automatically sent if you subscribe to the free Mediation Support Ltd email newsletter: www.mediationsupport.info/subscribenewsletter.html )

What happens in Hastings in the wake of a collapsed case of prosecution has potentially wide implications for other instances of collapsed legal cases elsewhere in the UK. I have met with Amber Rudd and written to get clarity, amongst other things, about the legal status of information passed to mediators.

My sense is that the justice story around Hastings Pier could, over the coming years, be a key part of the education that that pier provides. There may yet be a great story to tell, particularly if more conversations start happening in these towns about effective ways of processing a sense of having been harmed by someone else's actions.

The wish for justice could be expressed by more people modelling the change they want to see. If they want those on the pier 5th October to take responsibility for what they did, I am suggesting that we each take responsibility for something we did in the past. A weight will lift from the town if more people work through their repressed conflicts. In the simple words of some material from the new organisation with a strong local group: 'Action for Happiness' -”Say sorry; you know who to!” That could be a message emanating from the pier across town.

My request of the trustees is that you each phone me within the month & arrange to meet to discuss the impact of the fire, and possibly record a film or a message to one or more members of the community which, I suggest, has yet to find an effective way to move on from a sense of injustice.

Arranging a group viewing of the film 'Burning Bridges' sets the tone well for a discussion of the community-building process that can come in the wake of such a fire.

an open invitation to clear your names

The following comment was added to this blog:

"Why not offer the two 19 year olds an open invitation to clear their names on this site? 'My six months of hell as an innocent man', 'At last, a chance to share in the town's grief for the loss of its historic heart.'I know that if I was innocent of this sort of serious charge, I'd be setting up a website myself to set the record straight."

Your opportunity to talk about that is here; add comments or send YouTube web link. The coverage could have your face in it, or not, as you prefer. 

the longest book never written

The 3rd June 2011 Hastings Observer, on page 20, reported Cllr Godfrey Daniel suggesting that

"if a witness statement about the impact of the crime on all those affected was taken, it would be 'longer than most books in the universe'"

We live in an age whereby as well as writing statements, anyone affected has the option of recording YouTube videos (anonymously or more publically); so my questions are:

1.  Where is the material for those who were on the pier to watch or read so they can get a sense of what the impact was? 
2. What we can all do to move on in our lives, once the harm has been acknowledged and justice done?

Having shown the pier trustees a film called 'Burning Bridges' (about community meetings to deal with the consequences of an arson on a historic wooden bridge) in January 2011, by April (and before the lottery decision and the Crown Prosecution System's decision to drop the case against two individuals) Ray Chapman, chair of the Hastings Pier & White Rock Trust, recorded a video for those who were on the pier on the night of the fire. (That video is stored privately).

Now that Mediation Support Ltd (whose CEO, Paul Crosland, edits this blog), have moved into the Southwater Area Community Centre, Ray Chapman called in to record this public film about Hastings Justice:


If you want to see the words from Ray Chapman's YouTube video in print, here they are:

"Hi, I'm Ray, the chair of trustees  of the Hastings Pier & White Rock Trust and this is a communication to those of you who were on Hastings Pier on 5th October 2010. 

Some of our trustees have been involved in the Hastings Pier & White Rock Trust for over four years in preparing the business case for the Heritage Lottery Foundation, in partnership with the Hastings Borough Council and English Heritage.

We have obviously heard repeatedly from a number of sources particular names and also a rumour that there may be more than two of you who were on the pier that night. If you were on the Pier on  5th October 2011, we have a conversation to have, its is in the interests of our community that we  get a clear understanding of what happened on the pier that night.  Many people were effected and want to live in a community without buildings catching alight under mysterious circumstances.  The key is now for the town to get the pier up and running again as soon as possible. I hope that you'll be able to engage with the community and build bridges. 

I've seen  a film made in America called 'Burning Bridges' where six young men burnt a heritage bridge and they met with the community and got a deeper understanding of how everyone was affected. The community supported them to carry on living in that area and contributing to get them involved to repair the bridge. Who knows what the community will have, or even you will have, for us all to have a better future in Ore, St Leonards and Hastings? We learned, sadly. that not 'everyone loves the pier'. However some of the ideas from the recent consultation include concerts, raves, music, theme park rides and scoring most boat trips, cruising, lagoon, fishing, angling and green energy encompassing our heritage and also engineering and tourism for our local education providers. What do you think?

I am aware that other members of the community will be watching this and will have been affected by the pier fire. You too can also voice an opinion publicly or privately that will be passed on in due course to those people whose names we have been given.

The way we are doing this safely is through the -website www.peoplesjustice.org.uk  "

If you care to help this process, then please add a comment to this blog post. Alternatively, submit words and video eg via www.peoplesjustice.org.uk or just straight to YouTube, and drop a line to the mediation support ltd email or the peoplesjustice email so that I can put your message on this page.

pier hits jackpot

This is quite a long video which sometime I intend to replace with a 'Take 2' version.
In brief I am saying: Who is to judge whether the pier fire was 'a bad thing' for Hastings?; look what it led to?. Who is to judge that getting lottery seed funding is 'a good thing'?; it may lead somewhere that is not seen as so good, as the struggle for enough money to complete the job continues and many want other things attended to as higher priority in Hastings.

Paul Crosland reflects on whether 'Pier Hits Jackpot' is good news or not. Maybe so, or maybe this is like the man who was sure what news was good and what news was bad and ended up learning that things don't turn out as you expect. When the pier burned down this was seen as 'a bad thing' but now the pot of gold has arrived and this is being seen as a good thing. It may yet lead to a broken leg, as in the story told.... And remember, you always have the option of getting involved in finding the truth in relation to the fire: www.peoplesjustice.org.uk and/or the Hastings Justice facebook page.

Links referred to in the clip:
http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com

Home page of the Sussex Community Blogspot:
http://sussexcommunity.blogspot.com

"No charges for pier arson" -re-victimisation and "the truth will out"

More news will be found on the three other main other channels I use, so subscribe (or just read) 1-3 of these:

• YouTube Channel: Toothpaste007
• Twitter Stream: www.twitter.com/paulcrosland #HastingsJustice
• "Hastings Justice" Facebook Group
• Hastings Justice blog

(Transcript of this interview on this Restorative Justice home page)

Who decides what justice is?


Other pages on this blog:
Home
Mediation Support at Southwater Community Centre
Action for Happiness -A Good Week
Paul C -AKA Lend-It-All Man
Why Move to Hastings?

HPWRT-Hastings Pier & White Rock Trust-communcation

This morning I sent the following to the -Hastings Pier & White Rock Trust:

"Just wanted to let you know about the latest blog for Justice in Hastings:

http://hastingsjustice.blogspot.com

I'm keeping the Hastings Justice blog much simpler than  http://sussexcommunity.blogspot.com;

 I hope you'll promote it and the Facebook group "Hastings Justice";

both of which will enhance the letters being sent to the Attorney General.

Kind Regards
Paul
0780 70 66 202
http://sussexcommunity.blogspot.com/p/mediation-support-ltd-at-southwater.html

http://additionalinfo.blogspot.com/2011/04/sometimes-free-iphone-from-freelender.html

Press release about not pressing charges in relation to the fire

"The Crown Prosecution Service has decided that no charges can be brought against either of the two men arrested on suspicion of their involvement in a fire at Hastings Pier in October 2010.
Tim Thompson, head of the CPS Brighton Trials Unit said: "Sussex Police arrested two suspects in connection with this fire. The focus of the police investigation has been to establish what happened and who was responsible. The case has been carefully reviewed by the CPS, in consultation with the investigating officers.
"The nature of the structure and the extent of the fire combined to make this a particularly difficult crime scene. There is evidence to place both suspects, as trespassers, on the pier at the material time. There is evidence that a fire started through some human act at the time they were on the pier. We are left in the position where we cannot show how the fire was started and cannot show that the human act must have been a criminal act.
"We cannot show that there was or must have been any kind of joint plan. We have no admissible evidence to show which of the two suspects might have been responsible. We cannot prosecute on the basis that one or other of the two suspects might have been responsible; we can only prosecute where there is enough evidence against an individual.
"All reasonable lines of enquiry have been pursued and I have concluded that the two suspects should be told that they will not be charged. The decision has been taken on the evidence and information available to us. If new information comes to light the case will be reconsidered.
"I appreciate there will be concern that no one is being prosecuted. It is disappointing that we are not able to mount a prosecution in a case that is of considerable local interest but it is our responsibility to only bring prosecutions where there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction."

********
Here's a sideways response from the top of a hill:

The above response is by the incorrigible Imperfect Idealist,who has experienced a thing or two in relation to growing by facing up to what he's done.

How this has been reported in the national media:

• The Independent
• BBC News

Local Press:

• The Argus (Brighton)

More news will be found on the three other main other channels I use, so subscribe (or just read) 1-3 of these:

• YouTube Channel: Toothpaste007
• Twitter Stream: www.twitter.com/paulcrosland #HastingsJustice
• "Hastings Justice" Facebook Group
• Hastings Justice blog

(Transcript of this interview on this Restorative Justice home page)

Who decides what justice is?


Other pages on this blog:
Home
Mediation Support at Southwater Community Centre
Action for Happiness -A Good Week
Paul C -AKA Lend-It-All Man
Why Move to Hastings?

What I did that led to Hastings Pier Fire

I offered earlier (here) to share my theory about how I let Hastings & St Leonards down in 2010 in the run up to the 5th October fire. Many of us probably did something that impacted on which building caught fire that night; it's just that the links between our actions and those of some identified (yet anonymous) youths from St Leonards are not so easy to see.
I was nervous about posting this video, and the reactions I've got have justified those nerves. Am I too far out on a limb here in what I'm communicating with the community I've chosen to move into as a result of the 5th October fire?
Some would say that when I say something that doesn't go down well, I should stop digging a hole for myself:

I suggest that the best I can do is carry on in my imperfect way (my AKA is 'The Imperfect Idealist') doing all I can to share.
(My other alias is 'Lend-It-All Man':

Having worked part-time on sharing initiatives since summer 2007, when I co-founded a 'transition group' in my local area, my work has been recognised by environmental and business innovation think tanks i.e.on the importance of sharing, and the innovations that will make it happen.
Now my recommendation is that people use www.streetbank.com and that Hastings/St Leonards (where resources are scarcer than many other places) becomes a model of sharing for the rest of the UK.

Anyhow, here's the video I offered in December; I'm keen to hear what events you connect together as the deeper story of this sea-side town getting to this place of pier destruction:

Other pages on this blog:
Home
Mediation Support at Southwater Community Centre
Action for Happiness -A Good Week
Paul C -AKA Lend-It-All Man
Why Move to Hastings?

Are you sure you don't want to speak to the fire-starters?

Are you sure you don't want to speak to the fire-starters?

When I approached people after the fire and asked if they wanted to say anything to those who started it, most were camera shy. Not surprising really, as we live in a society that isn't used to communicating with the strangers who have impacted on our quality of life.
Once you consider the greater safety for our community that can be gained by having the difficult conversations with strangers, it makes sense, and then the question is how to have the communication.

There are at least three community views about the pier that could be put to those who burned the pier down:
1) the negative impact of the fire on many people...
2) the positive impact of the fire for some....
3) the suspicious 
If you hold a different view from some combination of these three, please comment below. And if you hold any of the above views, please contact me so that your view can be included in the dialogue.

Without all views being included in the dialogue, the Hastings community will carry on divided, with little healing of the underlying issues. A community that doesn't  work with difference doesn't work.
Other pages on this blog:
Home
Mediation Support at Southwater Community Centre
Action for Happiness -A Good Week
Paul C -AKA Lend-It-All Man
Why Move to Hastings?

Background information provided to the Pier Trustees on 7th February 2011

 “Benefits from mediated/facilitated victim-offender communication:

Victims have the opportunity to:

• Learn about the offender and put a face to the crime
• Ask questions of the offender
• Express their feelings and needs after the crime
• Receive an apology and/or appropriate reparation
• Educate offenders about the effects of their offences
• Sort out any existing conflict
• Be part of the criminal justice process
• Put the crime behind them

Offenders have the opportunity to:

• Own the responsibility for their crime
• Find out the effect of their crime
• Apologise and/or offer appropriate reparation
• Reassess their future behaviour in the light of this knowledge

Courts have the opportunity to:

• Learn about victims’ needs
• Aid reparative purposes in sentencing

Communities have the opportunity to

• Accept apologies and reparation from offenders
• Help reintegrate victims and offenders”

(Crosland & Liebmann's “40 Cases: Restorative Justice  and Victim Offender Mediation”, 2003,pvii-viii; this book is freely available at www.restorativejustice.pbworks.com )
In relation to the burning down of Hastings Pier it would be easy for a group of trustees working with an experienced Restorative Practitioner to identify a string of further possible benefits from a restorative process, possibly impacting positively in relation to the wider issue of fires destroying cars and buildings in Hastings.
In Case no 22 of the 40 Cases book:

“The editor of a regional newspaper that featured the story wrote:
‘It is tempting to say to the two boys who have publicly apologised for burning down [the village school] 18 months ago that it’s a bit late now. But they do deserve credit for having the gumption to say sorry in a regional newspaper that circulates in the village. The two secondary school pupils who set fire to a wheelie bin with disastrous consequences also say they are trying hard to put right the harm and damage caused.  The signs are that some good is emerging from this episode – and that is due in no small measure to the enlightened way in which these young offenders have been dealt with by their own community, not least the school by head teacher herself.’ (NB Neither of the boys has re-offended.)”

Total time commitment of 4-8 hours suggested for one Trustee to initiate a restorative process:

• 1.5 hour's familiarisation with 3 other restorative cases after a fire:

a) Watching “Burning Bridges DVD” (35 mins)
b) Reading the 3 pages of Case 22 in “40 Cases” on-line book.
c) Reading the 8 pages of Case 33 in “40 Cases” on-line book.

• 1 hour in communication with an experience restorative practitioner about:

a) the choice to let the suspects know that you want to communicate with them
b) the timing & method of communication
c) the relationship of this communication to criminal justice processes
d) the (emotive) content of the communication

• 1 hour consultation (supported by an experienced restorative practitioner) with whichever criminal justice agency/(practitioner or solicitor) is most relevant depending on the outcome of the hour's preparation above

• 1 hour spent on www.peoplesjustice.org.uk and ending up with a letter or three minute webcam/audio/film recording of a message to the two 19 year-olds.

• Up to 3 hours (as per case 22) to be reserved for a possible meeting with the two 19 year olds &/or others representing them.

• Up to 1 hour to be reserved for a review meeting eg 3 weeks later to see if people are satisfied with actions that came out of the trustee meeting the 19 year olds &/or others representing them.

The risks of not progressing with restorative processes at this stage include:

1.  Losing an opportunity because the likelihood of engaging people once they've been sentenced can be lower than at a point whereby it can serve their interests in being able to demonstrate remorseful actions to a court
2. The delay in the whole truth coming out. (Note that restorative processes bring out a different kind of truth from the kind of facts involved in 'legal truth' which may enable a conviction, yet leaves many questions unanswered eg about why the people involved did what they did and what understanding they have of the effects and the possibility of taking responsibility).
3. That which fills the void of truth is a significant number of members of the community being misinformed and disengaged; maintaining views such as “it ws an insurance job”. Alongside this breeds mistrust of the HPWRT and HPWRT initiatives for the new pier.

Other pages on this blog:
Home
Mediation Support at Southwater Community Centre
Action for Happiness -A Good Week
Paul C -AKA Lend-It-All Man
Why Move to Hastings?

HPWRT Trustees 'Burning Bridges' report

This blog post is a report back on the 15th January 2011 screening and discussion about the 'Burning Bridges' DVD; about which more is written lower in this blog. This DVD is also recommended to all who have started fires!
The screening was attended by:

• two HPWRT trustees
• two members of Hastings and Rother Mediation Service
• the only Hastings resident known by me to have recorded a video to the 'arsonists' for YouTube
• the only Hastings resident known by me to have recorded a video on the "non-arson theory" for YouTube
• Paul Crosland, CEO of Mediation Support Ltd (who uploaded the filming to -YouTube Channel Toothpaste 007)

I saw this as a key event in determining the prospects for the HPWRT Trustees to get the information necessary to make an informed choice about how restorative processes can bring out the whole truth and bring community engagement and healing in ways that the Criminal Justice System alone does not.


Insurance Job!!! The building was uninsurable and their was no Insurance and no ownership by the Pier Trusttees yet, so they tell me...

I have asked the Chair of the Trustees to approve my posting on here the advice I passed on and the date at which the Trustees collectively will be making a decision. Anyone who wants to move things on quicker is, as always, free to use www.peoplesjustice.org.uk and search for the truth by putting whatever question they want to whoever they want.




Invite me (Paul Crosland, Criminologist and CEO, Mediation Support Ltd) to screen the Burning Bridges DVD at your house or community centre and I'll facilitate a discussion about this 'crime' and what we can do about it by engaging in Sussex People's Justice. email Paul Crosland here
Other pages on this blog:
Home
Mediation Support at Southwater Community Centre
Action for Happiness -A Good Week
Paul C -AKA Lend-It-All Man
Why Move to Hastings?