Evaluation

• Theory behind restorative justice

  Watchel and McCold (2003) proposed that it is important to focus on relationships, not the punishment

  Crime harms both victims and the offender, and so healing must take place
• Peace Circles

  These are set up in many areas where crime rates are high

  Fostering the environment of respect and understanding

  Chairs in a circle with a talking piece passed around the circle

  A nominated person is the 'keeper' whose job it is to maintain a positive atmosphere and articulate constructive solutions
• Strength - Success rate for victims

  Many victims find RJ a beneficial process

  The UK restorative justice council (2015) reported 85% satisfaction from victims in face-to-face meetings with their offenders

  Avon and Somerset reported 92.5% victim satisfaction with violent crimes
• Strength - Success in reducing offending rates

  Sherman and Strang (2007) reviewed 20 studies of face-to-face meetings between offender and victim in the US,UK and Australia

  All showed reducing re-offending rates, and none increased the reoffending rates

  UK RJ council reported an overall reduction in reoffending of 14%
• Strength - Advantages of RJ compared to CS

  It might be unpleasant to be face-to-face with your offender, though probably preferable to a sentence if a given alternative

  This may act as a deterrent

  For ever £1 spent on RJ, £8 is saved avoiding CS

  Avoiding CS is a financially beneficial decision, but also, this prevents the development of a prison deviant sub-culture forming (due to the development of criminal attitudes)

  Another big advantage is this is the only system that promotes offender accountability
• Weakness - How are victims or offenders selected

  RJ will not work for everyone

  The offender must have admitted to the crime

  Some crimes may not be suitable - abuse, rape, etc

  There's a feminist critique which comes along cases like domestic violence and rape

  Some victims may decline the offer, therefore this cannot be a global solution to offending
• Weakness - Ethical Issues

  What happens if the victim feels worse?

  Victims can gang up on the offender, particularly where the offender is a child - power imbalances

  Shaming can occur, when the victims try to belittle the offender

  Careful management of the programme is essential
• Strength - Idiographic approach

  Restorative justice takes an idiographic approach

  The process of RJ will be tailored to the needs and situation of each case and may vary, change direction, or take unexpected paths per RJ session/cycle