Restorative justice

• What is restorative justice?

  • A system of dealing with criminal behaviour that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with the victims, so offenders can see the impact of their crimes and victims are empowered by having a "voice"
  • Switches emphasis from needs of the state to enforce law to the needs of the individual victim, less about retribution and more about reparation
• What are some key features of restorative justice?

  • Survivor is given the opportunity to confront the offender and explain how the incident affected them, enabling the offender to understand the consequences of their actions
  • Active rather than passive involvement of both parties
  • Focus is on positive outcomes for both survivors and offendors
• How does restorative justice work with the legal justice system?

  • Can occur pre-trial or function alongside a prison sentence as an incentive to reduce the length of a sentence, or even as an alternative prison
  • Restitution: monetary payment for harm, may reflect the psychological or physical damage caused
  • Can also be emotional, offender can support the healing process by repairing the survivor's self-esteem
  • Restorative Justice Council: establishes standards for restorative justice and supports survivors + specialist professionals in the field, advocating for its' use beyond crime and in areas like schools and workplaces
• What is one strength of restorative justice?

  • Research support for low recidivism: Sherman and Strang (2007) reviewed 20 offender and victim face-to-face meetings in Australia - all showed reduced reoffending and none were linked to higher offending
  • UK Restorative Justice Council reported a 14% reduction in reoffending rates, showing it is successful in its aim of reducing crime rates
• What is another strength of restorative justice?

  • Research support for victim satisfaction: Shapland (2008) found that in a Restorative Justice Council report 85% of survivors were satisfied, 78% recommended it to those in a similar situation, 60% said it gave them closure and only 2% said it made them feel worse
  • Suggests restorative justice achieves some of its aims such as helping survivors of crime cope with the aftermath of the incident
• What is one limitation of restorative justice?


  • Abusing the system: success of restorative justice may hinge on an offender's intentions of being honourable and that they must take part because they genuinely regret the hurt they caused and want to make amends
  • Van Gijseghem (2003) suggested offenders may use RJ for reasons like avoiding punishment, playing down their faults, or taking pride in their direct contact with the survivor
  • Explains why some offenders go on to reoffend after restorative justice, suggesting it is not always effective and can be limited by individual differences
• What is another limitation of restorative justice?

  • Negative research: Wood and Suzuki (2016) argue that restorative processes are not as survivor-focused as often reported in satisfaction surveys, and researchers actually admit that RJ processes can become distorted when survivors of crime are used as a way of helping to rehabilitate offenders rather than being helped themselves
  • Suggests that the needs of survivor may be seen as secondary to the need to rehabilitate offenders