Lesson 12: Restorative Justice

Question 1

What is the aim of Restorative Justice?

Answer 1

• Switch emphasis from needs of state to the needs of the victim
• Victims are encouraged to take an active role in the punishment of the offender
• Offenders are required to take responsibility for their actions and face up to what they have done to their victim

Question 2

What is the process?

Answer 2

• Process of managed collaboration between offender and victim based on principles of healing and empowerment.
• Trained mediator facilitates a meeting
• Victim has an opportunity to confront the offender and explain how the crime affected them.
• Offender is confronted with consequences of their actions, including emotional distress they have caused.

Question 3

What do all Restorative Justice programmes have in common?

Answer 3

• Focus on acceptance of responsibility and positive change for offenders
• Not restricted to courtrooms, survivors and offenders meet face to face in a non-courtroom setting
• Active rather than passive involvement for all parties
• Focus on positive outcomes for survivors and offenders

Question 4

What else can restorative justice do?

Answer 4

• Offenders make financial restitution for physical/emotional damage or they can repair damaged property themselves
• Can function as alternative to custodial sentencing, especially if offender is young, as an addition to community service or an incentive to reduce an existing sentence.

Question 5

Evaluation (+)

Answer 5

• A psychologist found that every £1 spent on RJ would save the criminal justice system £8 by reducing recidivism. (-) Hard to fund as requires highly trained professionals

Question 6

Evaluation (-)

Answer 6

• Victims may have ulterior motives: taking revenge
• Women’s Aid has asked to stop RJ in domestic violence cases as the offender can exploit this opportunity to take them back. Abusers have a lot of power over their victims so meetings can be dangerous.
• Unpopular with general public as it regarded as a soft option. Politicians are wary of supporting it as they want to look tough on crime
• RJ relies on the offender showing remorse: some offenders may sign up to avoid prison or reduce their sentence. This can explain the high dropout rates in RJ, offenders change their mind as they weren’t committed in the first place