Restorative justice

• Sherman and Strang

  • carried out a review where they analysed the effectiveness of RJ in 36 studies which compared offenders involved in the programme to those who were not.
  • Restorative justice seems to work in property crime and violent crimes where there is a clear personal victim. It is especially effective in violent crimes where the process seems to reduce the stress caused to the victim and it can also reduce reoffending rates when used instead of a prison sentence.
• Restorative justice pt 1

  • RJ tries to recognise the needs of the victim and give them more of a sense of control and often takes place alongside the criminal justice system rather than as an alternative. 
  • It allows the victim to explain the impact the crime has had on them to the offender and try to understand why they were targeted. Sometimes in cases of vandalism the offender is asked to fix the damage.
• Restorative justice pt 2

  • The process involves drawing up a contract that is agreed upon by both parties where the offender is agrees to take some kind of action to make amends. 
  • It can help reduce the victim’s fears that they will be targeted for future crimes.