Dealing with offending: Restorative justice Flashcards
Basic idea
- involves criminals ‘paying back’ their victims
- It involves a process of managed collaboration between the offender and victim which is supervised by a mediator.
- The victim & offender meet up so that the victim can confront the offender and explain how the incident affected them so the offender can see the consequences of their actions.
Key features:
- Emphasis positive change through rehabilitation in criminals over just punishment through jail time
- take place in a non-courtroom setting
- all parties take an active role in the process
- focus on positive outcomes for survivors & criminals
Variations of the process
- Some involve paying compensation to the victim whilst others involve repairing damaged property
- can act as an alternative to prison, an add one to community service or as a way of reducing a sentence.
Evaluation strength: Diversity of programmes
there is a degree of flexibility in the way which restorative justice programmes are administered and the settings they occur.
Evaluation weakness: relies on offender showing remorse
There is danger that some offenders may sign up for the scheme to avoid prison or for the promise of a reduced sentence, rather than a genuine willingness to make amends to the victim.
Evaluation weakness: not cost effective
specialist professionals who are trained in mediation are likely to be expensive. The programmes often suffer from high dropout rates as the offender or victim may ‘lose their nerve’
Evaluation weakness: Feminist critique
Women’s Aid have called for legislative ban on the use of restorative justice in domestic violence cases. Their concerns relate to the power imbalance in the relationship between the abuser and victim and the fact that the wider community, often resorts to blaming the victim.
Evaluation weakness: soft option
alternatives to custodial sentencing like restorative justice do tend to not receive much public support as they are often regarded as soft options.
