Restorative justice: Dealing

• the basic principles of restorative justice emphasise the needs of the individual victim - victims are encouraged to take an active role in the process, whilst offenders are required to take responsibility.
• the restorative justice process

  • a supervised meeting between the 2 parties is organised in a non-court room way
  • attendance is voluntary
  • meeting is led by a trained mediator
  • the victim is allowed to confront and explain the effect
  • offender can see the consequences including emotional distress caused
  • Family and friends may feel involved
  • active rather than |
  • focuses on positive outcomes
• variations of restorative justice include:

  • financial restitution to the victim
  • offender repairing damage caused
• the Restorative Justice Council is an independent body that establishes clear standards for the use of restorative justice and supports the victim
• One of the strengths of restorative justice is its degree of flexibility in administering it.

  • more flexible custodial sentencing
  • covers a wide range of possible application
  • schemes that can be adapted and tailored to the needs of the individual

  HOWEVER, this presented difficulties in terms of drawing general conclusions about the effectiveness
• A weakness of restorative justice is that some offenders may 'sign up' for the scheme to avoid prison rather than to make amends

  • the victims themselves may also have an ulterior motive - seek revenge or retribution for their own
  • this means that the programs may not lead to positive outcomes when participants do not agree to take part with the best intentions
• Another weakness of restorative justice is that may not be the most effective solution.

  • specialist professionals who are trained in these matters are likely to be expensive and difficult to find
  • the program also suffers from high drop-out rates due to the offender or the victim 'losing their nerve' prior to the meeting