Restorative Justice Flashcards
What is restorative justice
a process of managed collaboration between the offender and the victim
Restorative justice programmes switch the emphasis from the needs of the
state (to enforce the law and punish criminals) to?
the needs of the victim (to come to terms with crime and move on with their lives).
are victims encouraged to take an active or passive role in the punishment of the offender
active
what are offenders required to do
take responsibility for their actions and face up to what they have
done to their victim
what principles are restorative justice based on
healing and empowerment
what happens in restorative justice
A trained mediator facilitates a meeting between the offender and the victim:
1. The victim is given the opportunity to confront the offender and explain how the crime affected them.
2. The offender is confronted with the consequences of their
actions, including the emotional distress they have caused the victim.
what key features do all restorative justice programmes have
- Focus on acceptance of responsibility and positive change for offenders
(less emphasis on punishment). - Not restricted to courtrooms, survivors (seen as more empowering than
‘victims’) and offenders meet face-to-face in a non-courtroom setting. - Active rather than passive involvement of all parties in the process.
- Focus on positive outcomes for survivors and offenders.
how else can offenders make up for what they’ve done
financial restitution for the physical and emotional damage
sometimes even repair damaged property themselves.
Restorative justice can function as an alternative to what?
custodial sentences especially if the offender is young, as an additional to community service, or as an incentive to reduce an existing custodial sentence
AO3 + Shapland 2007 saves money - how much? and why is this still hard to implement
Shapland et al. (2007) conducted a government funded research project and
found that every £1 spent on restorative justice would save the criminal justice system £8 by reducing recidivism. However, because restorative justice
requires specialist and highly trained professionals it is very expensive and
finding funding has proved challenging.
In what cases can restorative justice be dangerous? (- AO3)
Domestic abuse cases
The organisation ‘Women’s Aid’ has called for an end to the use of restorative
justice in them because the offender can exploit this
opportunity to convince the victim to take them back. Abusers often have a lot
of power over their victims and so a meeting between them could be dangerous.
AO3 (-) why are there high dropout rates in restorative justice
Offenders often change their mind because they were not committed to the process in the first place. The success of restorative justice relies on the offender showing remorse. Some offenders might sign up for the scheme to avoid prison, or reduce their sentence, rather than from a genuine willingness to change.
AO3 (why is restorative justice taken less serious / funded less)
Restorative justice is unpopular with the general public because it is regarded
as a ‘soft option’. This means that politicians are unwilling to support it because
they want to please the electorate by seeming ‘tough on crime’.
