Discuss the concept of restorative justice. Include discussion on its purpose and goals as well as records of success or failure

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Restorative justice is based on the concepts of empowerment, notification, direct involvement, offender accountability, and making right the harm that was committed. The goals of RJ are to give the victim a voice in the process and allowing her to confront the person who harmed her. RJ notes often not only is the direct victim harmed, but so is her family and community. These individuals should also have a voice in how to repair the harm. In the current criminal justice system, the offender does not have to take responsibility for the crime nor offer means to repair the harm. The purpose behind RJ is to allow offenders to make amends, which has the goal of also empowering the offender to see the error of their ways and aid in their rehabilitation. Restorative justice project use four different approaches: victim-offender mediation, peace circles, family group conferencing, and community boards. Evaluations have found little differences between RJ programs and traditional criminal justice approaches in terms of recidivism rates for adult offenders but it has had success in recidivism rates for juveniles. The majority of evaluations regarding victim satisfaction have found high rates compared to traditional processes. RJ programs have received higher ratings for fairness by offenders, victims, and other stakeholders than those who experience the traditional criminal justice system.