Restorative justice

What is restorative justice?

A system of dealing with criminal behaviour which emphasises the importance of rehabilitation by re-conciliating and collaborating with victim and their family

How does RJ work?

The victim and offender meet in a neutral place with a supervisor which allows the victim to explain how the crime affected them and the consequences of their actions on them emotionally and physically, this hopefully makes offender feel guilt and empathy to change their behaviour

How can reparation and restitution be used as RJ?

They return the stolen goods or repair the damage that they have caused

What are the strengths of RJ? (2)

🙂 Research to support - meta-analysis of 36 cases of RJ and found it is effective in changing criminal attitudes when offender engaged in it

🙂 Cost effective - £8 is saved for every £1 spent on RJ

What are the weaknesses of RJ? (2)

☹ Pretend to show remorse - offenders may only participate in order to get a shorter sentence

☹ Doesn’t satisfy demand for retribution and seen as the ‘soft option’