DEALING WITH OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR: RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAMMES Flashcards
what is restorative justice?
Restorative justice is when a criminal pays back the victim in some way.
This leads to the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and collaboration.
This can be used alongside or as an alternative to custodial sentencing
how is changing the emphasis used in restorative justice programmes?
Instead of being seen as committing an offence against the state, the emphasis is on the needs of this individual victim. (so they come to terms with the crime and move on)
The victims are encouraged to take an active role in the process and offenders are required to take responsibility and face up to what they have done.
how do the offenders and victims collaborate with each other in the restorative justice programmes?
It is based on the principles of healing and empowerment. A supervised meeting is organised in which the victim is given the opportunity to confront the offender and explain how the incident effected them. The offenders can see the consequent of their actions, including the emotional distress it caused which leads to rehabilitation.
how does this theory focus on acceptance of responsibility?
This theory focuses on acceptance of responsibility and positive change for people who harm others (less emphasis on punishment)
They are not restricted to courtrooms and the term victim is avoided.
what type of involvement does this theory consist of?
It consists of active rather than passive involvement of all parties in the process wherever possible and it focuses on positive outcomes for survivors and those who have engaged in wrongdoing.
AO3: how is ‘supporting evidence’ a strength to restorative justice programmes as a way of dealing with offending behaviour?
one strength to restorative justice programmes as a way of dealing with offending behaviour is that there is evidence to support this theory. For example, researchers examined the extent to which victims felt happy with restorative justice programmes. They found that the majority of victims were happy with the outcome of this collaboration. However, some were cynical about the offenders sincerity and motivation to do this collaboration as the victims may believe they are just doing it to reduce their sentence. This meant that some victims were very uncomfortable or felt intimidated during this as feelings from the initial events resurfaced. Therefore, although this does show that it works in some cases, it may not work for everyone and may actually cause more harm.
AO3: how is ‘deals with the victim, offender and wider community’ a strength to restorative justice programmes as a way of dealing with offending behaviour?
one strength to restorative justice programmes as a way of dealing with offending behaviour is that it benefits the victim, offender and wider community. This means that by participating in the collaboration, the victims are able to put the crime behind them as they are able to find out why they were targeted meaning they can eventually receive closure. This also benefits the wider community as it shows them that offenders are making up for their actions which gives them a sense of retribution and the offenders are benefited from this programme as it helps them to develop an understanding of the effect of their actions. Therefore, this theory benefits everyone involved compared to the other ways of dealing with offending behaviour as they only benefit certain individuals.
AO3: how is ‘cant be applied to all crimes’ a limitation to restorative justice programmes as a way of dealing with offending behaviour?
one limitation to restorative justice programmes as a way of dealing with offending behaviour is that it cant be applied to all types of crime. For example, we are unable to use restorative justice programmes for crimes such as domestic abuse. This means that this theory is not relevant to all offenders and it may cause more harm than good depending on what crime the offender has committed. Therefore, this theory lacks applicability as it cant be used for all types of crime.
AO3: how is ‘relies on offenders showing remorse’ a limitation to restorative justice programmes as a way of dealing with offending behaviour?
one limitation to restorative justice programmes as a way of dealing with offending behaviour is that it relies on offenders showing remorse for their victims. This means that offenders such as psychopaths who are unable to show remorse may sign up to restorative justice programmes as a way to avoid prison or reduce their sentence. Therefore, this way of dealing with offending behaviour is seen as a softer option as it is not as tough on crime compared to other ways such as custodial sentencing.
