Restorative Justice Flashcards
(3 cards)
Research support for the effectiveness of Restorative Justice -
Sherman and Strang (2007)
carried out a meta-analysis where they reviewed research on the effectiveness of restorative
justice. They found Restorative justice substantially reduced repeat offending for some offenders, but not all. They also found that restorative justice reduced recidivism more than prison for adults, and for youths, they found it reduced recidivism the same amount as prison. Additionally, they found that restorative justice is more effective when there is a
personal victim (as opposed to a business), where there is violence and when the crime involves property (e.g. burglary). They found that the clearest benefits were for the victim, in reducing post traumatic shock syndrome and helping them to come to terms with the crime. There is therefore strong evidence to suggest that restorative justice is effective.
Cost Effective
There is some debate about whether restorative justice is cost effective or not as a method of dealing with offending behaviour. On the plus side, the Restorative Justice Council claims that reduced re-offending means that £8 is saved for every £1 spent on the
restorative process (e.g. reduced custodial costs, court costs, police time, etc.). This is important because it offers a cost-effective way of dealing with offending behaviour.
However, the meeting between offender and victim requires the input of a skilled and experienced individual to act as a mediator. These specialist professionals are expensive and rare. In addition, restorative justice programmes often suffer from high dropout by the offender or victim prior to the scheduled meeting and withdraw from the scheme. This means
that, in practice, it may not always be the best and most cost-effective solution.
Relies on offender showing remorse
A further problem with restorative justice programmes is that their success may depend upon the extent to which the offender feels remorse for their actions. However, there is a 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 want to make amends to the victim. The victim themselves may also have an ulterior motive – to seek revenge or retribution of their own. This means that restorative justice programmes may not lead to positive outcomes when participants do not agree to take part with the best of intentions.
