DEALING WITH OFFENDER BEHAVIOUR: RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AO1 & AO3

Question 1

Restorative Justice (Dealing with Offending Behaviour)

Answer 1

• RJ focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with the victims.
• It involves offenders coming face to face with their victims, under the supervision of a trained mediator.
• It can be a crucial stage in the offender’s rehabilitation process as it involves reconciliation with the victims and allows the offender to face the consequences of their actions.
• Additionally, it can help the victim put the incident behind them and move on by giving them a ‘voice’ to express their feelings about how the incident affected them.
• RJ is based on the principles of healing and empowerment. There are several aims of RJ, it helps with acknowledgement of the harm caused.
• Furthermore, it allows victims to ask questions, and offenders to accept responsibility.
• Additionally, it’s an active rather than passive involvement of both parties

Question 2

One strength of RJ is that it’s a flexible method.

Answer 2

• For example, there are a wide range of possible applications (including schools and hospitals).
• This means schemes can be adapted and tailored to the needs of specific cases.
• This is an advantage as it allows prison officers to decide when it’s appropriate to apply the scheme depending on the crimes.
• Furthermore, it’s a better approach than custodial sentencing which applies one idea to all instances of offending behaviour- not taking into account the differences between each criminal case

Question 3

One strength of RJ- supporting research to show its effectiveness

Answer 3

• For example, Sherman and Strang compared 36 studies of RJ within prisons and found that reoffending rates for violent and property crimes reduced.
• For victims, incidents of PTSD reduced significantly.
• This means it helps victims resolve the trauma of the event, and helps reduce the rates of recidivism by offenders.
• This is an advantage as it’s
  benefitting all parties and decreasing offending behaviour

Question 4

One limitation of RJ is that it’s costly.

Answer 4

• For example, because the meeting between the offender and survivor could be highly emotional, there is a need for a trained mediator.
• These professionals are rare and expensive to train- which increases costs.
• Additionally, there are high drop-out rates because of the daunting nature of these meetings on both parties.
• Thus, CJ may not be the most cost-effective and appropriate solution.
• However, Shapland found for every £1 spent on restorative justice the CJS saves £8
  through reduced reoffending. This helps save money in the long term