Restorative justice

• What is restorative justice?

  Usually a conversation between an offender and victim with a mediator present.

  • Offenders should restore the situation to what it was before their crime was committed. They should aim to make things right. The emphasis is on reparation.
  • Has to be voluntary for all parties and seeks a positive outcome. It is respectful and not degrading for either offender or victim.
• What are the aims that the restorative justice programme provides victims with?

  • An opportunity to explain the impact of the crime
  • An acknowledge of the harm caused
  • A chance to ask questions
  • Acceptance of responsibility
  • Active rather than passive involvement of both parties
• What are the key features of the restorative justice program?

  • Trained mediator supervises the meeting.
  • Non-courtroom setting where offenders voluntarily meet with survivors.
  • Can be face-to-face meeting or conducted remotely via video link.
  • The survivor is given the opportunity to confront the offender and explain how the incident affected them. This enables the offender to comprehend the consequences of their actions; including the emotional distress it caused.
• What is the restorative justice council?

  An independent bod where the role is to establish clear standards for the use of restorative justice and to support survivors and specialist professionals in the field.
• What is restitution and how is the aim met?

  The idea of paying something back. This can be done in an emotional sense. Offenders can support the healing process by repairing and rebuilding the survivor's confidence and esteem.
• What is a strength of restorative justice?

  Lower costs

  • Restorative justice is typically much less than alternative methods of dealing with criminal behaviour, such as custodial sentencing or anger management.
• What is a limitation of restorative justice?

  Methodological concerns

  • Restorative justice programs are voluntary, there will always be self-selection bias for participants who want to change their ways. Meaning the type of offenders who volunteer for these programs may be less likely to reoffend anyway. This makes it difficult to say whether restorative justice programs actually cause lower rates of recidivism, or are they just correlated.
• What is another limitation of restorative justice?

  Limited applications

  • The voluntary nature of restorative justice programs means their applications are limited. (e.g., RJ can't work if either offender or victim doesn't consent to take part. Similarly, if the offender doesn't take responsibility for their actions, RJ isn't an option. This limits the potential applications of RJ.
• What is another strength of restorative justice?

  Softer option

  • There is a common perception that RJ is a soft option in that it doesn't sufficiently punish offenders for their crimes, and it even results in a less harsh sentence. As such, there if often greater support for harsher approaches to dealing with crime like custodial sentencing.