Restorative Justice (forensics)

Question 1

What is restorative justice?

Answer 1

• Offenders restoring the situation to what it was before the crime was committed –> should right their wrong.
• Repair harm done from offending, rather than punishing them.
• Involves communicating with the victim. (Letter or face-to-face meeting)

Question 2

What are the aims of restorative justice?

Answer 2

• An opportunity to explain the impact of the crime (impact statement)
• Acknowledge the harm caused
• A chance to ask questions
• Acceptance of responsibility
• Active rather than passive involvement of both parties.

Question 3

What two things does restorative justice focus on?

Answer 3

1.) The victim (or survivor) of the crime and their recovery (the term survivor is preferred.)
2.) The offender and their recovery/rehabilitation process

Question 4

What is a theory of restorative justice?

Answer 4

Wachtel and McCold:
- Focus on relationships rather than punishment
- Three stakeholders involved:
–> victim seeking reparation
–> offender who should take responsibility
–> community who aims to achieve reconcilliation
- Full restoration must involve all three stakeholders
E.g. peace circles

Question 5

What is the restorative justice council?

Answer 5

• An independent body who establish clear standards for the use of restorative justice.
• Supports victims and professionals
• Advocates restorative justice use in managing and preventing conflict in schools, workplace, childrens services etc.

Question 6

Strengths of restorative justice

Answer 6

+ Positive outcomes: RJC conducted 7 year research project –> 85% of survivors reported satisfaction with their process of meeting their offender face to face, with only 2% feeling worse.

+ Decrease in recidivism rates: Meta analysis of 10 studies conducted where offenders who experienced face to face RJ was compared with those of just custodial sentencing. The RJ group was significantly less likely to reoffend. Reduction being larger in offenders who committed violent crimes over property crimes.

Question 7

Limitations of restorative justice

Answer 7

• May not be suitable for all crimes: The NPCC (National Police Chief’s council policy) does not support the use of restorative justice in domestic violence cases. –> Liebman argues that the main concern is the power imbalance, putting pressure on survivors who may feel worse if they do not go along with their ex-partners suggestions.
• Relies on the offender showing remorse: A danger that some offenders may only ‘sign up’ to the programme to avoid prison or get a reduced sentence –> or the victim may have an ulterior motive such as revenge.