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Summary

Dignan, Jim (2002). Restorative Justice and the Law: The Case for an Integrated, Systemic Approach In, Lode Walgrave, ed., Restorative Justice and the Law. Devon, UK: Willan Publishing. Pp. 168-190.

Restorative justice theory and initiatives have developed dramatically in recent years around the world, with increasing influence at many levels of criminal justice policy-making: international; governmental; and sub-governmental within a wide range of criminal justice agencies. With this growth, observes Dignan, certain significant “fault lines,� or tensions and divergences, within the restorative justice movement have become starkly apparent. Dignan identifies three “fault lines� that delineate different strands of restorative justice thinking: process versus outcome definitions; “civilian� versus “communitarian� perspectives; and “separatist� versus “integrationist� tendencies. Reflecting on these tensions and divergences, he also draws out some of their policy implications. All of this leads to his discussion of the roles of non-custodial penalties and imprisonment within a systemic model of restorative justice.

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