Restorative Justice AO3

• what research evidence is there for restorative justice?

  • Sheman and Strang 2007 - empirical evidence of RJ
  • compared 36 studies of RJ (meta-analysis) with conventional justice e.g. prison
  • reductions in reoffending for violent/property crimes particularly
  • victims - incidents of PTSD significantly reduced
  • all parties reported greater satisfaction will overall process compared
  • RJ is effective in dealing with offender behaviour
  • may be best suited for as not only reduced reoffending rates, but takes into account the victims recovery as well, best for everyone when offenders released?
• what are some reliability/validity arguments of Sherman and Strang?

  • limitation of meta-analysis is they are prone to publication bias where the researcher may not select all relevant studies, or may choose to leave out any with negative or non-significant results
  • means data is biased and incorrect conclusions may be drawn and not always be valid
  • Sherman and Strang may have chosen 36 studies which showed the positive effects of RJ and left out any that showed negative outcomes
• what is a positive of Sherman and Strang using a meta-analysis?

  • researcher combines results of several studies with similar aims/hypothesis, as results from multiple studies it leads to more reliable conclusions
• what is the Strang 2013 study?

  • systematic review of 10 studies, found face-to-face RJ conferences are cost-effective in reducing reoffending and increasing victim satisfaction, supporting the Sherman and Strang 2007 study
  • however, may be risk of researcher bias as wouldn't want to disprove own study so may lack validity
• what are some RWA of RJ?

  • may not be suitable for cases of domestic violence
  • Liebman 2016 argues that main concern is that power imbalance between abuser and abused puts pressure on survivors, who may fear the worst if they go along with their partner/ex-partner suggestions during mediation
  • may become another opportunity for offender to assert power and dominance
• how is neurogenesis an application to RJ?

  • we recognise that offenders amygdala may be the cause of a person's criminal behaviour but that it is possible, through neurogenesis for brains to change and for people to accordingly change their behaviour
• what did Shapland et al 2003 study show about ethics of RJ?

  • completed a seven-year research project and found 85% of survivors reported satisfaction with the process of meeting their offender face-to-face
  • 78% would recommend it to other people
  • 60% felt process made them feel better about the incident and had helped them to 'move on'
  • helps mend the emotional distress and damage of victim caused by offenders actions