What is Restorative Justice?

Restorative justice seeks to balance the concerns of the victim and the community with the need to reintegrate the offender into society. It seeks to assist the recovery of the victim and enable all parties with a stake in the justice process to participate fruitfully in it. (Restorative Justice Consortium) Source Youth Justice Board

Key features of effective restorative justice practice.

· Facilitators impartial · Facilitators appropriately trained · Perpetrator accepts responsibility · Realistic and informed choice · No pressure on victims · Thorough preparation for all participants · Acknowledgement that views of all are important · All parties are involved · Perpetrators encouraged to be accountable for own actions · Restorative meeting before reparation

Source: Youth Justice Board (Feb. 2001)

Victims have the opportunity to: · Learn about the offender and meet the offender · Ask the offender for answers · Tell the offender how they feel · Receive an apology or some form of payback · Let the offender hear about the effects of crime · Let any other issues be heard · Be part of the criminal justice process · Move forward from the past

Offenders have the opportunity to:

· Be responsible for the crime · Hear about the impact of their crime · Apologise or repair the damage their crime caused · Think about the future and what they can do to change their behaviour