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
"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".
(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:
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
- 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?
(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*
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
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.
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.
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