Restorative Justice Flashcards
(27 cards)
Up until the late 1990s what were the main methods of modifying criminal behaviour based on?
the behaviorist principle of punishment
What percentage of prisoners were being reconvicted within one year of release?
46%
What approach is Restorative Justice (RJ) linked to?
Positive Approach
What is the underlying concept of RJ?
offender should try and restore the situation to how it was before the crime was committed and put right their wrong. Offenders may be offered RJ as an alternative to a prison sentence or alongside their sentence. It is victim sensitive.
What is the 1st aim of RJ?
To rehabilitate and reintergrate the offender back into society making the offender less likely to reoffend
What is the 2nd RJ?
To enable the offender to make amends and atone to all affected by their wrongdoing in a manner that is acceptable to those affected.
What is the 3rd RJ?
To reduce the victims sense of victimisation through understanding the offender and why the crime has occurred.
The three main methods of RJ can only be used collectively True or false
False they can be used both separately or collectively
What are the three main methods of RJ?
- Victim Reparation
- Victim-Offender Mediation
- Family Group Conferencing
Victim Reparation
involves offender carrying out community service or making financial payment to victim to compensate for the injury loss or damage sustained from offense. Victims are able to obtain assistance from Victim support. Victim reparation not initially part of RJ and is still used infrequently.
Victim-Offender Mediation
when victim and the offender meets with a trained mediator to fully discuss how they have been affected by the crime. Can be done either through video-conferencing or face-to-face. Victim will be able to explain real impact and distress crime has caused them. Offender will take responsibility and learn from criminal behavior, offer atonement. Offender may learn to show empathy by understanding pov of victim. Development of regret and empathy help to prevent recidivism.
Family-Group Conferencing
-not used in early models of RJ
-if RJ is to achieve full restorations then meetings should involve for example family, friends and professionals connected to the victim and offender. Rationale behind conferencing because crime harms not just the people involved but also their relationships with others and wider society.
Who reviewed the effectiveness of RJ using a meta analysis of 36 research investigations?
Sherman and Strang in 2007 reviewed effectiveness of RJ compared to other forms of treatments
What did the meta-analysis of Restorative justice show?
-substantially reduced recidivism for some offenders
-reduced ptsd in victims
-reduced desire by victims for violent revenge against offenders
-increased levels of satisfaction that justice has been achieved by both victims and offenders
-shows beenfits of RJ to society, offenders and victims
What methodological flaws are found in investigations in the effectiveness of RJ?
-face to face interviews
-victims show demand characteristics (say they feel reduced stress knowing that this is the purpose of RJ)
-offenders show social desirability bias (feel remorse when they do not especially if there’s a chance of an early release)
-produce cofounding results
What reduction in recidivism was reported in 2015?
14% by the UK Restorative Justice Council following RJ which is significantly lower than reported by Sherman and Strang/
What did further analysis show of the 2007 study in terms of RJ’s effectiveness of reducing recidivism?
-found 11% recidivism rate in male offenders who had undergone RJ compared with a 37% recidivism rate in a matched group of male offenders who had not participated in RJ. Means that RJ reduced reoffending by 26%
Reasons for different recidivism statistics
-Different crimes and severity of crime studied
-Different time period
-Meta analysis
How can RJ cause psychological harm? (victim)
-victim may feel embarrassed during proceedings
-may feel taken advantage of if offender has been offered RJ over custodial sentence
-may feel angry if offender fails to show remorse or empathy
How can RJ cause psychological harm? (offender)
-some might argue offender should not be protected as they have committed a crime
-others say they this is a breach of human rights
-may feel powerless, isolated, victimised when meeting victim or mediated
-important for meetings to be carefully managed so that all parties can fully benefit from the experience and avoid psychological harm
What is one positive ethical implication of RJ?
has reduced post traumatic stress for victims
Who are three stakeholders in RJ?
- The victim
- The offender
- The community
Watchel and McCold (2003)
How is the restorativeness of RJ measured?
-if one stakeholder participates = partly restorative
-if two stakeholders participates =mostly restorative
-if three stakeholders participates =fully restorative
Watchel and McCold 2003
What does Wilson et al in 2003 say about including the wider community in RJ?
they should then be able to support the offender within their reintergration of society and thus reduce their chances of reoffending
