Working Offenders
Restorative Justice: The Government's Strategy
Restorative justice brings victims and offenders into contact. In doing so it helps the victim come to terms with the crime and get answers to their questions. It is also a very effective way of ensuring that the offender realises the impact their actions have on the community.
Title: Restorative Justice: The Government's Strategy
Number of pages: 75
Date published: July 2003
Restorative justice was first used in this country by the youth justice board as a way of rehabilitating young offenders. The main elements behind the theory are:
Ensuring victim satisfaction - making the victim feel like they feel like they have been 'paid back' and that their level of fear of crime has been reduced
Engaging with the young offender - it is important to ensure that they are aware of the consequences of their actions and show remorse. They also have to sign up for a plan for their restoration in the community.
The Government aims to maximise the use of restorative justice in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) as it works well at both addressing the needs of the victim and in reducing offending.
Evidence suggests that restorative justice can help to deliver key objectives across the CJS: improving victim satisfaction, reducing crime and re-offending, delivering justice effectively and building public confidence.
The communication between victim and offender can take different forms, either a face to face meeting, through a third party or letter.
The Government strategy has two elements. Firstly it will build in high quality restorative justice at all stages of the CJS, by:
Putting restorative cautioning by the police on a statutory basis, as part of the new conditional caution introduced in the new Criminal Justice Bill
Developing a pilot to test restorative justice as a diversion from prosecution
Using the Criminal Justice Bill to make reparation a part of sentencing, and to make clear that reparative activities as part of sentencing can include victim-offender contact
Setting out action plans to improve the delivery of restorative justice and reparation by the Prison and Probation Services
Building on the progress in the Youth Justice System, and building restorative justice into new developments in the adult system
Increasing the understanding of restorative justice
Developing a consistent approach to effective practice, training and accreditation for restorative justice practitioners and enabling information sharing between agencies
Secondly, it aims to develop the understanding of where restorative justice works best and how it can be fully integrated with the CJS in the long term by:
Further research
Developing policy on key issues about mainstreaming restorative justice in the CJS.
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Last update: Friday, April 17, 2009