Evaluation of Restorative Justice

Question 1

Victim perspective

Answer 1

One strength of restorative justice is that it can also have a positive impact on the victim. For example research reviewed previous randomise control trials of restorative justice in the USUK and Australia. This found that compared to conventional methods of justice victims of crime were less likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder and will less likely to desire revenge, this further support by restorative justice council who reported 85% satisfaction from victims in face-to-face meetings with their offenders. This is an overall strength as victims also gain satisfaction as well as offenders gaining rehabilitation 

Question 2

Recidivism

Answer 2

What another strength is that? It reduces the chances of recidivism. An additional finding from researches found that for adult offenders restorative justice was more effective than a prison sentence reducing recidivism for young offenders was equally as effective as a prison sentence. However the restorative justice council reported that overall recidivism rates were 37%. Therefore this limits the effectiveness of restorative justice as recidivism rates are below 50%.

Question 3

Ethical implications

Answer 3

One ethical implication of restorative justice is that it may cause psychological harm to both offender and the victim. This is because the interaction between victim and offender may bring up extreme negative memories for both participants. This puts both at risk of psychological harm. Furthermore, the professionals are not experts in mental health meaning that the mediators between the victim and their offenders aren’t capable of providing the correct help needed to aid both victim and offender with possible PTSD symptoms.