MTC helps thousands of people in the United Kingdom who are on probation and parole. Our goal is to transform lives, reduce recidivism, and keep communities safe. In this short video, you’ll be introduced to Liz Dixon, an MTC employee in England who was selected to receive the Member of the British Empire Award or MBE by the Queen. Liz is receiving this prestigious award for her exceptional services to probation over many years. In this video, Liz explains the work she does through restorative justice.

“So, my name is Liz Dixon, and I am a restorative justice manager. My job is to develop and implement what we call restorative interventions.”

What is a restorative approach?

So, a restorative approach seeks to do more than just punish in some ways; it’s reparative. It’s looking to see where we can repair the damage that’s been done through an instant. What really pulled me in with restorative justice is that it also offers a service to victims.”

How does that differ from the criminal justice system?

“What happens in a criminal justice system is very quickly the victim and offender are separated. All of the focus goes on the offender, often correctly so because they are a risk to other victims. But the victim is left out in the name of safety and risk. But actually, what that does is it leaves many, many victims with unanswered questions and with lot’s of needs that are not met. This one is more of a moral intervention, trying to help the offender think about the harm that they’ve caused and start to make amends that way. And because it pulls in the victims as well, I think that’s the potency of it. It’s not suitable for all cases. There are number of prerequisites, but it’s an incredibly powerful approach. And it gives everybody a new perspective.

The flow between the two means that there’s this greater empathy, greater understanding, and there’s a greater motivation to move on and to reintegrate.”

How does it feel to have been awarded an MBE?

So, I feel really thrilled to have received an MBE. I can’t even get used to the fact that it’s ‘Liz Dixon, MBE.’ It’s amazing. It’s just really amazing. It’s quite shocking and wonderful, really, really wonderful for a number of reasons. But I love it that it puts a spotlight onto the work that we do in the probation service and in restorative justice. So, it feels lovely for somebody to have been that light and validating the work that we’ve been doing. It gives me confidence to press ahead. I will use it to kind of campaign to get restorative justice everywhere; in the community, in schools, in work situations. You know, you can use it internationally, and you can use it very, very locally. So, I will drive it; my biggest drive is to make sure we have the same level of professionalism that I’ve enjoyed throughout my career.”