Restorative justice Flashcards
What is restorative justice?
A system of dealing with criminal behaviour which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with the victims. This enable the offender to see the impact of their crime.
What is the process of restorative justice?
Managed collaboration takes place between the offender and victim based on healing and empowerment. A supervised meeting between the parties is organised by a trained mediator and the victim is given the opportunity to confront the offender and explain how the incident affected them. This allows the offender to see the consequences of their actions.
What are the key features of the process?
Focus on acceptance of the responsibility and changes rather than punishment.
Not restricted to courtrooms
Active involvement of all parties in the process.
Focus on positive outcomes for survivors and offenders.
What are the variations of the process?
The offenders may make financial payments to the victim which reflect the damage done. They may also repair the damage caused. This can be an incentive to reduce a prison sentence or as an add on to community service.
What is the restorative justice council?
An independent body whose role it is to establish clear standards for the use of restorative justice. It advocates restorative justice in preventing and managing conflict in many areas including schools, workplaces and communities as well as prisons.
What is the strength of restorative justice?
There is diversity of programmes and so the scheme can be adapted to different situations.
What are the weaknesses of restorative justice?
It relies on offenders showing remorse and so it may not be as effective for those who aren’t as remorseful.
It is expensive to implement as it requires specialists. However, it may be cheaper than paying for prisoners.
There is feminist critique as restorative justice in domestic abuse cases causes power imbalances.
It is seen as the soft option as it is not soft on crime.
What are the weaknesses of restorative justice?
It relies on offenders showing remorse and so it may not be as effective for those who aren’t as remorseful.
It is expensive to implement as it requires specialists. However, it may be cheaper than paying for prisoners.
There is feminist critique as restorative justice in domestic abuse cases causes power imbalances.
It is seen as the soft option as it is not soft on crime.
