Restorative Justice

Question 1

What is restorative justice?

Answer 1

A system of dealing with criminal behaviour which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims. Offenders see the impact of their crime and the process empowers victims by giving them a “voice”.

Question 2

What are the key features of restorative justice?

Answer 2

• Focus on acceptance of responsibility and positive change for people who harm others, less emphasis on punishment.
• Not restricted to courtrooms; survivors and those responsible for harm may voluntarily choose to meet face-to-face in a non-courtroom setting.
• Active process involving all parties in the process wherever possible.
• Focus on positive outcomes for survivors and those who have engaged in wrongdoing.

Question 3

What is the RJC?

Answer 3

The Restorative Justice Council (RJC) is an independent body whose role is to establish clear standards for the use of restorative justice to support victims and specialists.

Question 4

Not all restorative justice programmes are face-to-face encounters between offender and victim. What may restorative justice that is not face-to-face look like?

Answer 4

Offenders may make some financial restitution to the victim which may reflect the damage done (psychological or physical). Other variations may include the offender repairing damage themselves, it is a flexible and can be an alternative to prison in some cases.

Question 5

The RJC advocates the use of restorative justice in preventing and managing conflict in may areas, where might this be?

Answer 5

Schools, children’s services, workplaces, hospitals and communities and prisons.

Question 6

Why is restorative justice good for a victim?

Answer 6

It gives them a “voice”, allows them to make amends with the offender and they can gain some restitution (possibly financial).

Question 7

What does restorative justice involve?

Answer 7

It involves an organised, mediated, meeting between the victim (or victims family) and the offender.

Question 8

Why is restorative justice beneficial for the offender?

Answer 8

It allows them to see the consequences of their actions.

Question 9

What is the main goal of the process?

Answer 9

To benefit all parties in one way or another.

Question 10

What does restorative justice switch the emphasis of?

Answer 10

The emphasis is switched from the needs of the state (law and punishment) to the needs of the individual victim (coming to terms and moving on).

Question 11

What did Braithewaite say about the restorative justice process?

Answer 11

John Braithewaite (2004) said ‘crime hurts, justice should heal’.

Question 12

What term is avoided typically?

Answer 12

Victims is avoided and they are instead called survivors.

Question 13

AO3 - Supporting evidence.

Answer 13

Sherman and Strang (2007) reviewed 20 studies of face-to-face meetings between offenders and victims in the US, UK, and Australia. They found that all studies showed reduced reoffending, and none were linked to higher reoffending. In one of the studies (consisting of 142 males convicted of violence and property offences) there was a lower offending rate of 11% as compares with a matched control of 37% recidivism.
The UK Restorative Justice Council (2015) reported an overall figure of a 14% reduction of reoffending rates as a result of restorative justice.

Question 14

AO3 - Non-beneficial for everyone.

Answer 14

There are concerns for if the victim feels worse after the restorative justice and from the offender’s perspective, making people face up to their wrongdoing can lead to abuses of power. Victims can gang up on an offender or may try to shame the offender, which is not an intention of the process. This is a negative as restorative justice has the aim to benefit all parties involved, however, if the victim’s gang up on the offender this could cause them psychological harm in the long-term.

Question 15

AO3 - Remorse required.

Answer 15

The success of the programme hinges on the offender feeling remorse for their actions. However, there is a danger that some offenders will sign up for the scheme to avoid prison or the promise of a reduced sentence, rather than a genuine willingness to make amends either. If the offender feels no remorse for their actions, then this could cause even more harm to the victim and their families as they could feel even more attacked.

Question 16

AO3 - Custodial sentencing comparison.

Answer 16

There are advantages of restorative justice compared to custodial sentencing, firstly the prisons and institutions are already overcrowded and lack funding. If petty crimes such as graffiti and vandalism can be solved through restorative justice then there is less money needed to be spent on institutionalising this person in a prison, and the victim can gain from it rather than never see the offender again. It has also been shown that restorative justice leads to a lower recidivism rate than custodial sentencing which suggests it may be a better long-term solution.

Question 17

AO3 - Domestic abuse cases.

Answer 17

Women’s Aid have called for a ban of restorative justice in domestic violence cases. Their concerns relate to the power imbalance in the relationship between the abuser and the abused. This is bad as it means the restorative justice programme cannot be used in all cases, this decreases the generalisability of the programme.

Question 18

AO3 - Expensive.

Answer 18

A meeting between an offender and a victim may require the input of a skilled professional to act as a mediator as it an emotionally charged affair. These specialists need to be trained and are likely to be few and far in between. The programme also suffers high drop-out rates, all of these factors mean that it may be cheaper and easier to use custodial sentencing and stay away from the programme.

Question 19

AO3 - Cheap.

Answer 19

Shapland et al. (2007) conducted a 7-year government funded research project and it was found that every £1 spent on restorative justice would save the criminal justice system £8 through reduced recidivism rates. This is a strength of the programme as it demonstrated the cost-effectivity and the money that is saved can be used to further increase prisons and pay for programmes such as anger management within prisons.

Question 20

AO3 - Soft option.

Answer 20

Davies and Reymond. (2000) found that restorative justice was often regarded as a soft option, these sentiments are echoed by politicians who are keen to convince the public they are ‘tough on crime’. This is a negative of the system as those in power (politicians) may overlook restorative justice simply to keep up their public image when this could be worse for all parties than restorative justice.