Restorative justice
| Criminology and penology |
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| People |
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| Topics |
| Conflict resolution |
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| Principles |
| Law |
| Management |
| International relations |
| Models and theories |
In criminology, restorative justice is a method or ethos of criminal justice that seeks to repair harm after crime or violence by empowering the harmed (victims) and harming parties (offenders) to participate in a dialogue. In doing so, restorative justice practitioners work to ensure that offenders take responsibility for their actions, to understand the harm they have caused, to give them an opportunity to redeem themselves, and to discourage them from causing further harm. For victims, the goal is to give them an active role in the process and to reduce feelings of anxiety, unfairness and powerlessness. Restorative justice programmes are complementary to the criminal justice system, including retributive justice. In the matter of defining what "punishment" is, it has been argued that some cases of restorative justice constitute an alternative punishment to those atoning.
Through academic assessment, restorative justice has rendered positive results for both victims and offenders. Proponents argue that most studies suggest it makes offenders less likely to re-offend. A 2007 study also found that it had a higher rate of victim satisfaction and offender accountability than traditional methods of justice delivery. Its use has seen worldwide growth since the 1990s. Restorative justice inspired and is part of the wider study of restorative practices.
The literature summarises restorative justice practices as: victim-offender mediation, family group conferencing and circles. Their main differences between these key practices lie in the number and roles of participants. Victim-offender mediation involves meetings between the victim and the offender. Family group conferencing involves meetings with the victim, the offender and direct stakeholders such as their family and professionals supporting them including youth or social workers, the police or friends. Circles include the victim, the offender and representatives of the wider community.
Independently of the restorative justice practice, the overall goal is for participants to share their experience of what happened, to discuss who was harmed by the crime and how, and to create a consensus for what the offender can do to repair the harm from the offense. This may include a payment of money given from the offender to the victim, apologies and other amends, and other actions to compensate those affected and to prevent the offender from causing future harm. Founded upon the principle of equality, restorative justice practices are firmly rooted in the needs of the victim, as well as the offender, and thus their focus is on empowering both parties through power sharing leading to honest and equal dialogue towards resolution.