Restorative Justice Evaluation

It is suggested that offenders that accept the help of restorative justice are often already contemplating a life without as much or any crime. By participating in the process they are more likely to evaluate their reasons to stop committing a similar crime they are being punished for and possibly will stop committing altogether (Shapland, Robinson, Sorsby 2011). 54% of youth offenders that are involved in restorative justice do not reoffend. This is compared to 63% that are given other community sentences (Restorative Justice Council 2015).
However, it has been argued that restorative justice has not been directly linked to reoffending. This is because of the voluntary factor of the programme and that offenders that partake in the programme are less likely to reoffend as they obviously already feel guilt and want to give something back to the victim. (Walgrave 2002) Consequently the participants of restorative justice are those who have only committed a minor crime and so their offender’s restorative justice targets are at low risk of reoffending. (Criminol 2002)
Restorative justice can normalise a crime as it aims to view it as less of a moral outrage and more of a simple matter with members of the community, it could reduce the sense of immorality which attaches itself to crime. (Bussmann 1992)
Furthermore, it recognises the impact of social injustice and addresses these rather than provide offenders with legal or formal justice and victims with no justice at all. It recognises the victim as a damaged / hurt person and understands their reform is important. (Criminol 2002). Victims have been known to say that they feel less anger towards the offender and a positive result has been reached as an outcome (Kurki 2003).
A programme like restorative justice generally relies on other criminal justice organisations to make appropriate referrals. This means in order for them to engage in the process they have to share the same philosophy, agree that it is a priority and have a sufficient framework in place for it to work. (Crawford & Newburn 2003, Hoyle 2002) This can cause inconsistencies as different police forces will think different offences can be resolved through restorative approaches and others won’t. (Criminal Justice Joint Inspection, no date) Furthermore, participants are not carefully assessed before being put forward for the programme which can lead to them not being familiar with the process and possibly not being psychologically ready. (Morris et al 1993)
Specifically in social work restorative justice applies the key underlying and unifying aspects. It promotes empowerment by giving the victim and offender the option to opt in to the programme. By doing this all parties are given the authority of choice which for social workers is a goal purpose. Social justice for social work is a concept that seeks to advance the outcomes for groups that are disregarded or encounter barriers in society. (Beck, Kropf, Leonard 2011). Restorative justice is used by vulnerable groups of people their place in society can be blinkered because of their misdemeanour. Social justice and restorative justice is therefore linked by social workers as they use it in order to integrate the offender back into the community by getting the victim to see the reparation that has been made get clarity on the changes that the person has made in order to be accepted back into society. (Reisch, 2016)

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Restorative Justice Evaluation

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	Created by Adele Shire over 7 years ago