Dealing with offending behaviour: Restorative justice

define restorative justice

A system for dealing with offending behaviour which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims (survivors). This enables an offender to see the impact of their crime & serves to empower survivors by giving them a ‘voice’.

Historically, a person convicted of a criminal offence would have been regarded as…

having committed a crime against the state

restorative justice shifts this emphasis from…

the needs of the state (to enforce the law & punish) to the needs of the individual - the victim (to feel compensated in some way & come to terms with the crime)

restorative justice can be seen as a…

healing process

restorative justice is less about…

retribution (i.e. punishing the offender) and more about reparation (repairing the harm they have caused)

Restorative justice seeks to focus on two things: …

the survivor of the crime & their recovery and the offender & their recovery/rehabilitation process

what are the key features of restorative justice programmes

• Trained mediator supervises the meetings in a non-courtroom setting where offenders voluntarily meet with survivors

• The survivor is given the opportunity to confront the offender & explain how the incident affected them; this enables the offender to comprehend the consequences of their actions (including the emotional distress it caused)

• It is important that there is active rather than passive involvement of all parties involved in the process wherever possible.

• The focus is on positive outcomes for both survivors & offenders.

when can restorative justice occur?

pre-trial (and the offender's involvement may be considered during sentencing). It could also function alongside a prison sentence, or as an alternative to prison (especially if the offender is young) or as an incentive to reduce the length of the sentence

The offender may make some…to the survivor which may reflect the psychological damage caused or the actual physical damage.

financial restitution

The offender may make some financial restitution to the survivor which…

may reflect the psychological damage caused or the actual physical damage

variations of the scheme involve…

offenders repairing damaged property themselves. Restitution can also be in a more emotional sense; the offender can support the healing process by repairing & rebuilding the survivors confidence or self-esteem.

what is the restorative justice council?

an independent body whose role is to establish clear standards for the use of restorative justice & to support survivors & specialist professionals in the field

The RJC advocates for…

the use of restorative justice beyond dealing with crime - it can be used in preventing & managing conflict in many areas

explain the strength of restorative justice evidence suggests it has positive outcomes

the RJC reported the results of a major 7-year project & reported that 85% of survivors reported satisfaction with the process & 78% would recommend it to other people experiencing a similar situation. About 60% of survivors felt the process has made them feel better about the incident and only 2% said it made them feel worse

explain the weakness not all research is positive towards the impact of restorative justice

some researchers argue that restorative processes are not as survivor-focussed as often as reported in satisfaction surveys. Restorative justice processes can become distorted, such as when survivors are used as a way of helping to rehabilitate offenders rather than being helped themselves

explain the strength restorative justice seems to lead to a decrease in rates of recidivism

a meta-analysis found that a restorative justice group, compared to a custodial sentencing group, was significantly less likely to reoffend

explain the weakness offenders may abuse the system of restorative justice

the success of such programmes depend on an offender's actions being honourable - they must be taking part because they genuinely regret the hurt caused & want to make amends. However one researcher suggests that offenders may use the restorative justice system for all kinds of reasons such as avoiding punishment, playing down their faults, taking pride in their relationship with the survivor