restorative justice

what is restorative justice

rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims

switches the emphasis from the needs of the state to the individual victim

less about retribution and more about reparation

key features of the programme

• mediator is present

• non-courtroom setting

• face to face

• survivor is given the opp to confront the offender and the offender can comprehend the consequences of their actions

• both parties must agree to meet

• focus is on positive outcomes

when may restorative justice be used

• alongside a prison sentence

• to reduce a prison sentence

• offender may offer a financial restitution to the survivor

who are the restorative justice council

• independent body whose role is to establish clear standards for use of restorative justice and to support survivors

• can be used in preventing/managing conflict in many areas e.g. schools or workplaces

strength - evidence for positive outcomes + COUNTERPT

• restorative justice council reported results of 7-year research project

• 85% reported satisfaction, 78% would recommend, 60% felt the process made them feel better, 2% reported feeling worse

however

• Wood and Suzuki = not survivor focused, survivors are only used to help rehabilitate offenders and the needs of the survivor are seen as secondary

strength - decreased recidivism

• meta-analysis by Strang et al. compared offenders who had face-to-face restorative justice to those with custodial sentencing

• restorative justice group were sig less likely to reoffend

• reduction was larger for more violent crimes

• suggests positive impact on offending

limitation - offenders may abuse the system

• Van Gijseghem suggests offenders may use restorative justice to avoid punishment, play down their faults of reduce their sentence

• suggests why reoffending may still occur as offenders don’t actually reflect on their actions and the experience

limitation + counterpoint - stress on survivors

• Liebman argues there is a power imbalance between abuser and abused in domestic violence that puts pressure on the survivor to obey their ex partners views during mediation

however

• sen et al. say it may be useful in dom violence cases where the couple has stayed together as they can work through issues together