Restorative Justice

Restorative Justice

1. offenders should in some way restore the situation to what it was before the crime was committed.

   • this is a fairly new approach; Carrabine et al (2014) stated that in the last 20 years it has moved from the margins of criminology to the centre of the field.
     • developed due to the failure of custodial sentencing to reduce offending behaviour has lead to the search for alternative programmes
   • Overview

2. what the programme consists of

   • offenders are offered restorative justice as an alternative to a prison sentence if the victim agrees,
   • RJ usually involves communication with the victim; any of the following arrangements can be made
     • Payment as reparation
     • a written letter from the offender
     • Interaction between offender and victim through video-conference or face-to-face with the presence of an impartial facilitator

3. aim of restorative justice

   • RJ has the potential to address two key aims of custodial sentencing; rehabilitation of offenders and atonement of wrongdoing.

4. Rehabilitation of offenders

   • the victim has an opportunity to explain the real impact of the crime and this enables the offender to understand the effects on the victim
     • Offenders may then may able to take the perspective of others which reduces the possibility of reoffending
       • |n particular, offenders are encouraged to take responsibility for the crime and this is hoped to have an influence on future behaviour.
   • being punished is a passive process but rehabilitate justice requires criminal's active participation which may change their attitudes towards crime and subsequently their behaviour.

5. Atonement for Wrongdoing