forensic: restorative justice Flashcards
What is the principle of restorative justice?
Paying back victims in some form
focuses on compensating victims and healing rather than punishing offenders
How does restorative justice differ from traditional views of crime?
Shifts focus from state needs to individual victim needs > emphasies the victim’s experience
What are the two main focuses of restorative justice?
- The victim of the crime and their recovery
- The offender and their recovery/rehabilitation process
This dual focus aims to heal both parties involved in the crime.
What is the difference between retribution and reparation in restorative justice?
Retribution is about punishing the offender; reparation is about repairing the harm caused
What are key features of restorative justice programmes?
- Trained mediator supervises the meeting
- Non-courtroom setting for voluntary meetings
- Face-to-face or remote meetings
- Survivor confronts the offender so they understand the consequences of their actions
- Active involvement of all parties
- Focus on positive outcomes for both parties
- Inclusion of community members (eg: neighbours, family, friends)
True or False: In restorative justice, the involvement of community members is discouraged.
False
Community members can play a role in explaining the effects of the crime.
Fill in the blank: Restorative justice seeks to promote _______ outcomes for both survivors and offenders.
positive
The aim is to achieve beneficial results for all parties involved.
The aim is to achieve beneficial results for all parties involved.
What is an important aspect of participation in restorative justice processes?
Active involvement of all parties
What is restorative justice?
A process that may occur pre-trial, alongside a prison sentence, as an alternative to prison(especially if the offender is young) or as an incentive to reduce the length of the sentence
How can restorative justice function during sentencing?
The offender’s involvement may be considered during sentencing.
What is restitution in its traditional sense?
Recompense for injury or loss, often seen as a monetary payment by an offender to the survivor.
Which type of offence is restitution most common for?
Burglary > allows for the replacement of stolen/damaged goods
In what more emotional sense can restitution occur?
The offender supporting the emotional healing process and rebuilding the survivor’s self-esteem.
what is a restorative justice council?
an 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
True or False: The restorative justice council only deals with crime.
False
It can be used in preventing and managing conflict in many areas such as school, children’s services, workplaces, hospitals and communities
AO3: positive outcomes
The Restorative Justice Council (Shepland et al, 2008) 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 and 78% would recommend it to other people experiencing a similar situation
About 60% of survivors felt the process had made them feel better about the incident – enabling them to feel closure and ‘move on’
Only 2% said it had made them feel worse.
STRENGTH as this suggests that RJCs achieves some of its aims, helping survivors of crime cope with the aftermath of the incident
AO3: abusing the system
offenders may abuse the system
The success of restorative justice programmes may hinge on an offenders intentions being honourable. That is, they must be taking part because they genuinely regret the hurt caused and they want to make amends
However,** Gijseghem suggests that offender may use restorative justice for all kinds of reasons**.
for example:
* Avoiding punishment,
* playing down their faults,
* even taking pride in their relationship with the survivor using direct contact
LIMITATION > This can explain why not all offenders benefit from restorative justice and go on to offend
AO3: reduced reoffeding
lead to a decrease in the rates of reoffending (recidivism)
A meta-analysis of 10 studies by Heather Strang et al (2013) compared offenders who experienced face to face
restorative justice schemes with those who experienced custodial sentencing.
The restorative justice group was significantly less likely to reoffend. This reduction was larger in offenders convicted of violent crime than crimes against property.
Similarly, a review of 24 published studies by Kristin Bain (2012) found lowered recidivism rates with adult offenders, especially when using one to one contact, rather than general community involvement
STRENGTH as this suggests that restorative justice has a positive impact on reoffending, maybe more so for some types of offence than
others and some approaches
AO3: not applicable to all crimes
Whilst restorative justice is permitted in the case of domestic violence, the NPCC policy does not support its use in this context.
Marian Liebman (2016) argues that the main concern is that the power imbalance between abuser and abused puts pressure on survivors, who may fear the worst if they do not go along with their partner or ex-partner’s suggestions during mediation
However, others argue that pre-trial mediation in domestic violence cases produce positive results for survivors (Lunnemann et al, 2015). Robin Sen et al (2018) suggest that restorative approaches are particularly useful in cases of intimate partner violence where a couple has chosen to remain together, as they can address the harm caused and plan for
the future
THEREFORE there is conflicting evidence about its usefulness in cases of domestic violence
