dealing with offenders - restorative justice

• Wachtel and McCold (2003)

  • the diagram represents the options of social discipline that we might have

  ·       Dimension- control and support

  ·       Giving support with no control is permissive

  ·       Restoration aims to have high support as well as control
• restorative justice

  a method of reducing and atoning for offending behaviour through reconciliation between offender and victim as well as the wider community
• focus

  • achieving justice through repairing the harm done rather than punishing
  • changing emphasis to crime against victim, not state; reparation to victim
  • rehabilitation through reconciliation, collaboration and acceptance of responsibility
• process

  • supervised, voluntary meeting between offender and victim with trained mediator
  • victim (survivor) able to confront offender and explain impact
  • offender sees consequence of actions (importance for rehabilitation)
  • it can be done without an actual meeting, e.g. offender repairs damage themselves
  • flexible- alternative to prison (especially for young offender), can be added to community service, as an incentive to reduce sentence
• principles of restorative justice

  • relationship- the offender has damaged the relationship not only with the victim but with society, so it is necessary for the offender to feel accountable for their actions so that the relationship can be healed
  • respect- all participant in the RJ process should show respect towards each other and this is achieved via active listening and trying to understand the perspective of the other person
  • responsibility- the offender must take responsibility for their actions even if the harm inflicted was unintentional
  • repair- offender must do what they can to repair the damage they have done, and the victim must banish thoughts of revenge and punishment and instead embrace positive moves forward
  • reintegration- the offender becomes part of the community, and this is accepted by that community with the emphasis on positive, active outcomes
• aims

  • rehabilitate offenders

  o   victim explains the real impact of the crime

  o   the offender understands the effects on the victim

  o   offender may learn to take perspective of others

  o   this may then reduce chances of reoffending

  • atonement for wrongdoing

  o   offenders may offer compensation to the victim

  o   atonement is seen through any feelings of guilt

  o   the victim can express distress

  o   this may increase the feeling of empathy/taking perspective by the offender

  • victim’s perspective

  o   the victim now has a voice

  o   reducing victimisation

  o   the victim may also develop an increased awareness/empathy towards the offender

  o   reducing the victim’s sense of feeling harmed
• peace circles - real world application

  • these are set up in many areas where crime rates are high
  • fostering the environment of respect and understanding
  • chairs in a circle and a talking piece is passed around the circle
  • a nominated person is the keeper whose job is to maintain a positive atmosphere and articulate constructive solutions
• success rate for victims

  • 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
• 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 reduced re-offending rates, and none uncreased the reoffending rates
  • UK RJ Council reported an overall reduction in reoffending of 14%
• 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 in itself may act as a deterrent. For every £1 spent on RJ, £8 is saved on avoiding CS
  • avoiding CS is financially beneficial decision, but also, this prevent the development of a prison deviant sub-culture forming (sue to the development of criminal attitudes)
  • another big advantage is that this is the only system that promoted offender accountability
• how are victims or offenders selected suitability

  • this will not work for everyone
  • the offender must have admitted to the crime
  • some crimes may not be suitable
  • some victims may decline the offer; therefore, this cannot be a global solution to offending
• ethical issues

  • what happens if the victim feels worse
  • victims can gang up on the offender, particularly where the offender is a child – power balance
  • shaming can occur, when the victims try to belittle the offender
  • careful management of this programme is essential
• idiographic approach

  • restorative justice takes an idiographic approach (one size does not fit all)
  • 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