Peacemaking Restorative Justice Flashcards
What is Restorative Justice?
approach to justice that focus on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with the victims & the community
- viewed as a less punitive approach
- Moves away from the adversarial model (factual)
How does restorative Justice benefit the victim?
Having a voice in more meaningful accountability for the offender
Having a chance to be heard and understood
Being able to express the impact of the crime,
and the losses and harms sustained
To ask questions and to receive information that can assist in closure and healing
How does restorative Justice benefit the offender?
- Allows for direct & personal responsibility to be accounted for
- The opportunity to experience, express
& demonstrate genuine remorse - Makes amends & provide restitution in a timely way
- learn from experience
- opportunity to learn from wrong doings & make meaningful amends
What are some examples of restorative justice approaches?
Family Group Conferencing
Sentencing Circles
Victim Offender Mediation
Youth Justice Committees
What are family group conferences?
Victim, offender, family, friends and facilitator meet
Offender must admit guilt
Participation is voluntary
Offender describes what happened and victim describes impact of the crime on them
Discussion about best way for offender to repair the harm done
What do we measure to test if restorative justice is effective?
Offender Satisfaction - traditional method offers little opportunity to provide input into the court process & rarely allows for the chance to make amends through meaningful restitution
Victim Satisfaction - victims can get involved & make amends; may led to dissatisfaction if offender fails to follow through
Restitution Compliance - act as a visible symbol that the offender accepts accountability for the offence and actively takes responsibility to repair the harm
e.g. community services, financial compensation
Recidivism - slight reductions in the recidivism rates of offenders within restorative justice programs compared to the traditional system; 3 % decrease
Research indicates restorative justice programs are more effective amongst…..
adults (8% reduction) than youth (2% reduction)
What is the role of youth justice committees?
Seek to facilitate voluntary reconciliation between victims and offenders while emphasizing support for crime victims, holding young people accountable to repair the harm caused to victims, and providing meaningful consequences to address the underlying causes of crime .
What did Laura’s Project involve?
research focused on the experiences
of the victims
Focus on role of: apology, empathy and
forgiveness
Data collection: attended conferences & interviewed victims after; participation voluntary
What is the role of apology in reconciliation?
a sincere apology, offered by an offender, may
alleviate initially negative emotions in
victims, such as vengeance and fear,
while activating positive emotions, such
as forgiveness and empathy
The apology-process is complex and is also impacted by the role:
- of parents/guardians (attitudes)
-communicative competence of the offender
-youth may feel wrongfully accused - institutional dynamics (coercion: attend this
program or go to court)
One of the main issues w/ carrying out evaluation research (assessment on a program) is….
Self-Selection Bias - the problem that very often results when survey respondents are allowed to decide entirely for themselves whether or not they want to participate in a survey.
