The Case for Restorative Justice

Articles and other resources that present the rationale for adopting and expanding restorative justice.

Prison Reform Trust poll finding: 88% support restorative justice after the riots

by Lizzie Nelson. In 1998 the British Crime Survey found that 41% of victims said they would agree to meet the offender, if this was offered to them, and 58% would accept reparation from the offender. In September this year, following the riots that took place across England in August 2011, an ICM poll, commissioned by the Prison Reform Trust (www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk<http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk>) found that 88% of the public thought victims of crime should have the right to tell offenders the impact of their crime; 94% believe offenders should make amends by doing unpaid work in the community; and 71% believe the victim should have a say in how the offender should make amends for the harm they have caused.

restitution to victims

Rita, I think you are right that victims should receive restitution and ideally those monies would be paid by the offender. By the offender paying [...]

Reparation Justice for Victims

Every state should implement this policy. Arizona has stated charging a $25 fee per person to visit a prisoner. They intend to use this money [...]

restitution to victims & restorative justice

Thank you for posting this. Restitution is very important to crime victims. Not only should offenders pay restitution, when ordered, but the justice system should [...]

Victims' advocate says more energy should be invested in restitution programs

from Michael McKiernan's article on Legal Feeds: Justice systems in the North should invest more energy in developing restitution processes that work, according to a leading Canadian victims’ advocate. Irvin Waller, a professor at the University of Ottawa and the president of the International Organization for Victim Assistance, was a speaker at Justice for All: A Comparison of the Crime Victims’ Rights in the U.S. and Canada, put on by the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice section this morning.

David Daubney of Canada presented the 2011 International Prize for Restorative Justice

by Dan Van Ness David Daubney has been awarded the 2011 International Prize for Restorative Justice in recognition of the public policy leadership he has provided in support of restorative justice. The presentation was made during the Prison Fellowship World Convocation underway in Toronto, Canada from 28 June – 2 July, 2011. Daubney’s interest in restorative justice began twenty five years ago when he was a Member of Parliament, chairing the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice. The Committee was engaged in a year-long study of public and professional attitudes about crime and criminal justice. As it conducted hearings across Canada, its members began to hear about a concept that was new to all of them: restorative justice. They heard from grassroots organizations operating victim offender reconciliation programs in Canada and from crime victims who spoke about the personal healing they had received from their involvement in these programs. The Committee was so impressed that it recommended in its 1987 report “Taking Responsibility” – known to many as the Daubney Report – that restorative values and principles be incorporated into the Canadian Criminal Code.

Breaking the Cycle: The Government's response published

from the website of the Restorative Justice Council: On 21 June 2011 the Ministry of Justice published the Government’s response to the consultation responses received to the sentencing green paper Breaking the Cycle. Although some areas of proposed policy have changed – for example in relation to the additional discount for early guilty pleas – the message on restorative justice remains strong.

Right and proper: Conservatives and criminal justice

from the article in The Economist: The word commonly used to describe a politician who publicly announces he wants to send fewer criminals to prison is “loser”. But back in February there was David Williams, president of Kentucky’s Senate, speaking in favour of a bill that would do just that. The bill in question would steer non-violent offenders towards drug treatment rather than jail. It is projected to save $422m over the next decade, and will invest about half those savings in improving the state’s treatment, parole and probation programmes. Mr Williams, who believes Kentucky “incarcerates too many people at too great a cost,” praised the bill for recognising “the possibility for forgiveness and redemption and change in someone’s life”. It passed the Republican-controlled Senate 38-0, and on May 17th Mr Williams went on to win the Republican nomination for governor.

RJ ,policing and Big Society

Very encouraging speech by the Honourable MP! Big society may also be taking in other culture not only in the UK. Even in UK there [...]

Restorative justice, policing and the Big Society

from the speech by The Rt Hon Nick Herbert, Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice in England: There has been much talk about restorative justice. We’ve seen encouraging pilots and there’s talk about it not only in this country, but around the world. So why is it that something that offers such encouraging results should not have taken a greater hold in our system? Well, I think it is because we’ve seen evolving over the last few years a criminal justice system that has been very much directed from the centre. We’ve been through the recent era of targets and what has eloquently been described as ‘deliverology’. The idea of managing from the centre, of close direction in order to try and drive up the performance of public services. This was done for benign reasons, but we all know what the consequences were.

victims support restorative justice

Thank you for this post. It is always very encouraging to hear of what is going on around the globe as victims are experiencing the [...]

Victim Support chief addresses restorative justice conference

from the organization's website: Victim Support describes itself as "the independent charity for victims and witnesses of crime in England and Wales. We were set up 35 years ago and have grown to become the oldest and largest victims' organisation in the world. Every year, we contact over 1.5 million people after a crime to offer our help." Speaking at the Restorative Justice Approaches conference on Thursday 27 January, Javed [Khan] said: “We have for many years supported restorative justice projects up and down the country. We know that one of the greatest benefits of restorative justice is to victims of crime and that satisfaction rates among victims are particularly high when it is victim led.” Welcoming the government’s commitments to restorative justice he added: “I want to make sure that these are more than just warm words and that restorative justice becomes a right for every victim who wants it.”

Smart on Crime: Recommendations for the Administration and Congress

from the Executive Summary by Adrienne Benson: Embodied in Smart on Crime are five basic principles the Coalition considers foundational, which Congress, the Administration and the judiciary should always consider when contemplating improvement to the criminal justice system. These principles include:

Youth justice report claims restorative justice would be more effective than courts

from Joe Lepper's post on Children & Young People Daily Bulletin: The government is being urged to deal with the majority of young offenders in England and Wales through restorative justice conferences rather than the courts, in a report on youth justice hearings. The report, called Time For A New Hearing, is based on an international comparison of how young offenders are dealt with and found that restorative justice conferences are more effective than courts in reducing reoffending.

Governor Jerry Brown: Can he support restorative justice?

by Lisa Rea Jerry Brown has returned to California Governor's office in 2011 having first been elected the youngest governor in the state in 1975. What's changed? The incarceration rate has skyrocketed. In 1986 the state prison population was at 59,000. Now the state incarcerates 173, 000 inmates in its state prisons (Legislative Analyst Office, 2006). Although editorial writer Dan Morain of the Sacramento BEE speaks of Brown's close ties to the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (the prison guard union with more members than most unions in the state) I believe Brown will not be tied to the failed policies of the past. I expect something more.

[More sensible ideas from the US!] Prison reform: A smart way for states to save money and lives

By Newt Gingrich and Pat Nolan With nearly all 50 states facing budget deficits, it's time to end business as usual in state capitols and for legislators to think and act with courage and creativity. We urge conservative legislators to lead the way in addressing an issue often considered off-limits to reform: prisons. Several states have recently shown that they can save on costs without compromising public safety by intelligently reducing their prison populations.

Tough on Crime and Smart

Thank you for this post (and article). This is a smart response to crime that points the way to restorative justice processes and real justice [...]

Green Paper: Breaking the cycle - Effective punishment, rehabilitation and sentencing of offenders

On s80 I am concerned that if offenders know beforehand that agreeing to attend a restorative meeting prior to sentencing may influence the sentencing outcome [...]

RJ in the Feds

I am a chaplain in a Federal Prison and would LOVE to see RJ implemented in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Is there any progress [...]

Restorative Justice: the case for wider adoption

from the summary of the paper by Lucian J. Hudson: Restorative Justice (RJ) is an idea whose time has come. It is defi ned as a process whereby parties with a stake in a specifi c offence collectively resolve how to deal with the aftermath of the offence and its implications for the future. RJ has been tried and tested, and it works. It is good for victims, offenders and communities. The evidence base for RJ is stronger than for that of almost any other criminal justice intervention.