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Founder of myRJ recognised for services to Restorative Justice

Andy Robbins and his wife, got an invite to Buckingham Place as recognition of the work he has done in the Restorative justice community, see how Andy’s day unfolded below.

 

The Story Starts…..

So, there I am sitting in the office at myRJ HQ, planning out weeks works when the phone starts “pinging”, with messages from my wife, asking what I have done wrong as there appears to be a letter from the Palace. I think I may know what it is, and sure enough we had been fortunate enough to receive an invite to King’s Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.

My thoughts immediately turned to ‘how much is this going to cost’?

Suit…Check
Shoes …Check
Umbrella…Check
Top-up Oyster card….NOPE forget that taxi only!
Premier Inn…you get the idea…..

 

But why me?

To cut a long story short, I’ve been working in field of Restorative Justice for over 20 years, public service as a Justice of the Peace and services to the local community, being the co-founder of IVSTITIA has given me a great insight to how RJ differs across the globe and I think has put me the company in a very fortunate position being able to share best practise and stories.

Taking on the task of setting up the first dedicated Secure RJ Case Management System to allow greater sharing of information, instant reporting and emphasising the importance of cyber security in the wider criminal justice network has been such an amazing experience and to be recognised for this was a real highlight.

 

Of we go!

So off we set to attend on a lovely sunny day. We arrive in London in good time to check into our hotel, get dressed into our outfits for the day.  We left in good time to arrive at the palace for about 3.15pm and on arrival we joined the queue with other attendees. We spent about 15 minutes in the queue, then we were into the main gate after the first security check had taken place. You get to walk past ‘THE BALCONY’ and around the side of the palace and through the rear part of the Palace and on into the garden.

The garden is laid out with 1 long marquee and 2 military band areas and the Royal tea tent (for invited guests only) along with numerous tables and chairs dotted around the grassed area. It is a very, very big garden. At approximately 3.55pm the Royal party arrived headed by The Prince and Princess of Wales, with various family members including The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Royal and members.

 

Afternoon Tea

The event then starts with the National Anthem. This year it was followed by cake and sandwich queue where we selected from such as an ice coffee or tea, sandwiches cut into soldiers with no crusts, made of various fillings including Egg Mayo, Smoked Salmon, Gammon Ham to name but a few and many various other nibbles along with a selection of very small but exceedingly tasty cakes which included Dundee cake, Victoria sponge, Strawberry tart all served on the smallest plate in the world, I kid you not. But all very pleasant, nevertheless.

 

After this wonderful plate it’s time to leave the marquee and explore the gardens.  The gardens and the lake at Buckingham Palace are huge and it took around an hour to walk round soaking up the atmosphere of the day and to be fair, mainly people watching and having the occasional laugh at the ladies sinking their heels in the grass. The afternoon finishes off once again with the National Anthem and as the Royal Party retires, the guests then start to leave. It is quite amusing how the guests become a tourist attraction themselves as on the way in and out there are many people photographing us.

 

Queens Garden Party

The history bit now, the Queens Garden Party albeit originally a breakfast party, primarily for debutants and the likes started in the 1860s by Queen Victoria and took place twice a year but by the mid 1950s there were now 3 a year and took the form of an afternoon tea party between the hours of 4 till 6 pm and along with the Royals there also present are the Yeoman of the Guard, Gentleman at Arms and Gentleman Ushers. At the garden party, you will see and meet many members of the public and service personnel from around the Commonwealth, there is also numerous attendees from across all religious divides, classes and race. With people attending in National costume, or Service personnel in uniform, lounge suits or morning suits. With the ladies in a variety of outfits and hats.

It is an event to be part of and savoured. Both my wife and I feel privileged to have received an invite and to be able to attend an event that is part of British history.

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SECURITY BEST PRACTICE AND ADVICE

Everyone wishes their organsation could be more secure.

With the number of hackers, Insider Threats and other threats to your cyber security out there, you can always find a new security practice to enact.

Take a look at our list to help guide you in the right direction:

 

1) Don’t use lazy passwords

If your account is hacked, it’s often because someone has worked out your password. Never use a password that anyone could guess or work out – a middle name, pet’s name or favourite football team. Include capital letters, numbers and punctuation for extra security. So if your pet is called Hamish, try using the password Ham15h!

And never use the same password for different accounts. That will mean when people can get into one of your accounts, they can access everything.

2) ALWAYS keep your system up to date.

Always making sure you operating system is up to date and all software is up to date too, this is as important as keeping your car MOT valid, regular updates from software providers may seem like a massive pain when they alert you to be done however the update may contain important security patches that will help prevent online attacks.

It was showcased that the recent NHS and related attacks we against machines using out of date operating systems and older software packages.

3) Never open email attachments or click on links from strangers

Viruses are often spread via attachments on emails, so if you don’t know what an attachment is, do not open it.   Never open .EXE attachments.

The same is true of links. Even if it looks like a safe link, it may be forwarding to somewhere you weren’t expecting.

4) Watch out for email scams

Spoof emails are very common, ranging from Nigerian princes asking for a short-term loan to proper-looking companies asking you for personal information. This is called phishing. If you get an email from someone like a bank, eBay or PayPal, saying there is a problem with your account, forward it to the company in question to get confirmation it’s from them. Most companies will never ask you to tell them your password.

Try searching on google for similar scams. For example, Nationwide bank has an archive of known email scams in circulation.

5) Even emails from friends can be suspicious

Robert Fox, a journalist for the Evening Standard, told of how his email contacts were all sent an email saying he was stuck in Cyprus after having his passport and wallet stolen and asking for money. Some of his friends did this.

All of this was done when a hacker got into his account, changed passwords and locked him out.

7) If you’re doing online banking, use all the banks security recommendations

Many banks will recommend adding a piece of software which guards against hackers. Do it. That will give your account maximum protection. For example, HSBC uses a programme called Rapport. Only complete online transactions where the URL starts with ‘https’ and not just ‘http’. The ‘s’ stands for secure.

Don’t do internet banking on computers that may be infected. Again, remember your bank will never ask for your login details via email, text or phone.

8) If you get hacked, change your password immediately

Often, when you are hacked, a spam email will be sent to all your contacts. If you find out this has happened, change your password to something completely different immediately.

Alert the people that may have received a spam email from your account to delete it immediately without opening it.

9) Read the small print

When you’re signing up for an account, make sure you look for the box near the bottom, which asks if you want to receive more information. Some require you to tick them to opt-in, some require you to tick them to opt-out, so read it carefully. Only fill in the mandatory boxes, marked with an asterisk *.
Some companies will sell your personal data, so make sure you take time to tick/untick the right boxes.

10) Use a firewall, anti-virus programme and anti-spyware programme

You can use Windows’ own firewall, or a third-party, such as Norton or McAfee. But make sure you don’t use both as they can interfere with each other.
– A firewall will stop unauthorised people hacking on to your computer.
– Anti-virus programmes will guard your computer from viruses which could destroy your computer.
– Anti-spyware will look out for programmes such as key loggers and trojans which spy on your computer use in an attempt to learn passwords or account details.

Once again we would like to assure you that we work above and beyond to keep your data save and secure, every effort is made to conform with data security standards and our servers are maintained to the highest standards.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article and if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team.

 

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IS YOUR RESTORATIVE PRACTICE DELIVERING RESULTS ?

“Results” are a key part of any restorative project and are essential for maintaining funding to sustain valuable restorative projects. We are now in a world that demands measurable results. Stakeholders want to see proof in order to fund restorative projects.

Across the globe there are hundreds of restorative projects; many just getting off the ground and some more established; what they all have in common is a need to collect and share case information in a secure way and report on that information to investors and interested parties.

I believe the key to achieving positive results is a streamlined process and an effective way of tracking progress. Stakeholders want to be able to see tangible results for their investment that goes beyond the initial restorative intervention process, without compromising on the positive outcomes that can be achieved. This means coordinators and managers face a critical challenge. How do we define and measure the results of restorative justice without creating excess paperwork and sacrificing victim satisfaction?

As CEO I have the unique privilege of collaborating internationally with restorative projects; helping implement new streamlined processes and providing solutions to plethora of problems. And what I see are managers, PCCs and coordinators wanting to build restorative hubs focussed on five key things: shared purpose, secure connectivity, insight, clear communication and proven measurable results.

Having clear communication and a secure way of recording results inspires and unites managers, volunteers and stakeholders to focus on what matters – the shared purpose of victim satisfaction and offender rehabilitation and a reduction in reoffending. When a streamlined process supports this shared purpose, it allows a project to develop measurable positive outcomes and build positive feedback from participants – all based on the shared purpose. Which importantly improves the bottom line, the feedback results.

Having worked as a restorative justice facilitator I saw the everyday challenges and difficulties that are faced by coordinators, such as sending sensitive data in a secure way, allocating and managing cases and reporting on outcomes and victim satisfaction. I thought there has to be a better way. This great quote by Guy Kawasaki sums it up in a nutshell:

“The best reason to start an organisation is to make meaning; to create a product or service to make the world a better place.”

So in order to help facilitators, coordinators and managers overcome these challenges; myRJ was born.

At IVSTITIA Limited we have built an innovative new way of supporting restorative interventions. We have created a platform that champions multi agency collaboration and assists the shift in focus from the justice system to a victim led service, delivering positive results for victims. The myRJ system makes everyone’s life easier by saving time and resources, reducing the cost of an average restorative facilitation from a projected £4000 to only £450. There is no need to waste time anonymising data, or setting up secure email accounts, as all data is stored and accessed on the secure system and a notification is sent when a case is updated containing only the case number. The security levels also give complete peace of mind that sensitive case data is safe, additional user levels also mean cases are only visible to the people allocated to them. Another key feature is that the system can be accessed on any device that has an internet connection. There is also a facility for managers to produce progress reports and track results. These are just a few of the ways that our system revolutionises the current way case data is handled which helps restorative practitioners give victims the help they need.

Measuring and tracking the progress made on restorative interventions will enable managers to ensure victims are the key focus and are receiving the best service possible. I believe it will also reinvigorate their ability to generate long-term value for stakeholders with proven results. The reason this matters so much is that we need to measure participant satisfaction, whilst saving the valuable time and resources of the people involved in making the restorative intervention possible. Restorative interventions are the way forward and now there is a faster smarter way of working, there is nothing standing in the way of progress.

Andrew Robbins JP is Chief Executive Officer at IVSTITIA Limited. The key purpose of the company is to help restorative justice organisations achieve results, save time and reduce costs, whilst improving the service experienced by participants, which he believes goes to the heart of their ability to build long term value for all stakeholders.

You can follow myRJ on Twitter: @myRJ