. The notion of "restorative justice" is a fundamental aspect of the Bill -and there have been significant advances in the concept and practice of restorative justice since 2002, both in South Africa and internationally. Hence it is possible to adopt the progressive and pragmatic definition of restorative justice in the Bill: "an approach to justice that aims to involve the child offender, the victim, the families concerned and community members to collectively identify and address harms, needs and obligations through accepting responsibility, making restitution, taking measures to prevent a recurrence of the incident and promoting reconciliation". An essential element of the notion of restorative justice is the acceptance of responsibility by the child for the offence and the need to make amends for the harm caused. In a sense, the notion of restorative justice is an age-old tradition in this country and continent - it is a key aspect of traditional or customary justice. It has surfaced internationally again in the context of the need to more effectively deal with crime. . Departments, especially the Department of Social Development (DSD), other State structures and NGOs have developed greater capacity to implement the Bill since 2002, and in some respects are already implementing key aspects of it, including assessments and diversion. In a sense, the Bill is lagging behind current practice - and serves to provide a legislative framework for ad hoc practices that have emerged. The Bill is, in some respects, a formalisation of practices already in place. . According to the Department, there are about 18 000 children already being diverted away from the criminal justice system as provided for in the Bill. . There are now more and more experienced Probation Officers than in 2002 - and these Probation Officers have a key role to play. The work they are already doing is consistent with the current provisions of the Bill. . There are also more secure care facilities now than in 2002 for children in conflict with the law. DSD representatives who appeared before the Committee said that there are plans to increase the number of secure care facilities (child and youth care centres, in terms of the Children's Act). . There are changes to other legislation affecting children since 2002, including the Children's Act which are more consistent with the current version of the Child Justice Bill.