restorative justice Flashcards
What is restorative justice?
A system of dealing with criminal behaviour which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation within victims.
Offenders see the impact of their crime and the process empowers victims by giving them a “voice”.
Outline the key features of restorative justice.
- Has to be voluntary for all parties and seeks a positive outcome. It is respectful and not degrading for either offender or victim.
- An opportunity to explain the impact of the crime (impact statements).
- An acknowledgement of the harm caused.
- A chance to ask questions.
- Acceptance of responsibility.
- Active rather than passive involvement of both parties.
Describe the process of restorative justice.
Based on the principals of healing and empowerment through a supervised meeting - by a trained mediator - between the offender and victim.
Outline potential variations of restorative justice.
Could be financial restitution to the victim or repairing property. Can function as an add on community service or an alternative to prison (especially if offender is young). Could also be an incentive for a reduced existing sentence.
What is the restorative justice council?
An independent body which establishes standards for professionals in the field.
Advocates the use of restorative justice in preventing and managing conflicts in areas such as schools, workplaces, children’s services, hospitals - as well as prisons.
Consider the findings of Sherman & Strang’s (2007) as support for restorative justice programmes.
Meta-analysis concluded that in no way can RJ be more harmful than the traditional justice system. It is at least equally as effective as the traditional justice system in all cases. In most cases (especially with more serious offences and with adult offenders) it is significantly more effective than the traditional justice system at lowering recidivism rates as well as lowering rates of post-traumatic stress disorder in the victims.
Consider the issue of commitment to the approach as a limitation of restorative justice.
Refer to the findings of (Miers et al, 2001) and (Latimer et al, 2012).
Require both parties to be committed to the approach. For example, Miers et al. (2001) found that most offender-victim meetings were received favourably, but some victims felt unsure that the offender was taking part for the right reasons.
On the other hand, other researchers argue that the overall feedback is positive in comparison to other forms of punishment (Latimer et al, 2012). Important because it shows importance of being committed to the programme and feeling positive about it.
Consider diversity of programme as a strength of RJ.
Unlike custodial sentencing there is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach, so it can be applied differently and adapted depending on the crime and the victim etc.
However, does present difficulties in terms of drawing general conclusions about effectiveness of the approach.
Consider the issue of remorse as a limitation of RJ.
There is a danger that some offenders just sign up to avoid prison, and do not feel remorse for their crimes.
May not lead to positive outcomes when ptps don’t agree to take part with the best intentions.
Consider the issue of expense and a limitation of RJ.
RJ requires a trained and skilled mediator to run this programme and it suffers high drop out rates as victim may lose their nerve.
May not always be the best and most cost-effective solution.
Consider the issue of the approach being considered a soft option as a limitation of RJ.
Although it may reduce rates of recidivism, it may not be seen by the public as a real sentence and a soft option for those who commit crime.
Retribution aim of custodial sentencing not satisfied.
Consider the feminist critique as a limitation of RJ.
There has been a call for a ban on RJ by feminist groups for domestic violence cases due to the power imbalance between the abuser and the abused.
