dealin with offending behaviour - restorative justice Flashcards
changing the emphasis
switch the emphasis from the needs of the state to enforce the law and punish to the needs of the individual victim to feel compensation in soem way and come to terms with the crime
method of treatment seeks to b a healing process
less about retribution such as punishing the offender andf more about reparation repairing the harm they have caused
seeks to focus on two things
the victim of the crime and their recovery
the offender and their recovery/rehabilotation process
key features of the programme
trained mediator supervises the meeting
non-courtroom setting where offenders voluntarily meet with the survivors
can be face-to-face meeting or conducted online
survivor is given the opportunity to confront the offender and explain how the incident affected them
enables them to comprehend the consequences of their actions
importnat that there is active rather than passive involvement of all parties in the process wherever possible
focus is on positive outcomes for both survivors and offenders
relavent community members may have a role in the process such as neighbours friends family
sentencing and restitution
may occur pre trial - offenders involvement may be considered during sentencing
could also function alongside a prison sentnace or as an alternative to prison - especially is the offender is young
or as an incentive to reduce the length of the sentence
seen as a monetary payment by an offender to the survivor or the harm resulting from the offence
offender may make soem financial restitution to the survivor which may reflect the psychological damage caused or physical damage
may also involve offender repairing damaged things themselves
restorative justice council
independent body whose role is to establish clear standards for the use of restorative justice and to support survivors and specialist professionals in the field
advocates the use of restorative practice beyond dealing with crime
can be used in preventing and managing conflict in many areas including schools workplaces hospitals
strength
needs of the survivor
has positive outcomes
Shapland
reported the results of a major seven year research project
85% of survivors reported satisfaction with the process of meeting their offender face to face
78% would recommend it to others
60% felt the processes has made them feel better about the incident
2% made them feel worse
suggest that resotrave justice achieved some of its aims
helps survivors of crime cope with the aftermath of the incident
strength
recidivism
does seem to lead to a decrease of rates of reoffending
meta-analysis of ten studies by strang
compared offenders who experienced face to face restorative justice schemes with those who just experienced custodial sentencing
restorative justice group was significantly less likely to reoffend
reduction was larger in offenders convicted of violent crime than crimes against property
suggest that restorative justice has a positive impact on reoffending maybe more so for some types of offence than others and soem approaches
limitation
abusing the system
offenders may abuse the system
success of resotrave justice programmes may hinge on an offenders intention being honourable
must be taking part because they genuinely regret the hurt caused and they want to make amends
Gijseghem
offenders may use resotrave justice for all kinds of reasons
avoiding punishment
playing down their fault
explain why not all offenders benefit form restoriave justice and go on to reoffend
