Introduction:
Restorative justice is the idea that harm caused by a crime can be repaired (Wallis, 2007) and that the victim and community can be restored to how it was previously, rather than resorting to punishing the offender …show more content…
By restorative justice having such a profound impact on the way in which crime and justice is viewed, this could transform public debate completely. People will be more inclined to adopt a more restorative approach to punishment as opposed to a retributive approach. There have been many proven benefits that come with the restorative approach, as highlighted in a Home Office report by Marshall (1999). It was stated that the majority of victims offered the chance of meeting their offender would like to do so and that having been given that opportunity, the great majority looked back on the experience as well worthwhile. Also stated in the report was that research carried out by Umbreit & Coates (1992), Umbreit (1994) and Umbreit et al (1997) showed that there were extremely high levels of victim satisfaction with mediation. Furthermore, the Home Office research showed a small positive effect on recidivism. Zernova (2007) also argues that restorative reforms could produce various benefits for victims, offenders, their communities and society in general. With all of these factors working in favour for the restorative justice system, it is clear to see how this may transform public debate over crime and justice: this new way of punishment not only sees the offender being punished for their crime but also allows for the victim to benefit from the outcome as …show more content…
A potential threat to this way of justice being delivered comes in the form of restorative justice: the idea that the offender should meet with the victim and begin to restore things to the way they had been previously, before the crime had been committed, thus giving the victim a sense of security, as well as integrating the offender back into society which would, effectively, reduce recidivism. It has been argued that restorative justice could transform public debate about crime and justice because of how different it is to the current system.. Researchers have argued that there are many benefits to adopting a restorative approach and they have provided evidence to back that up, thus enabling the public to look at crime and justice differently and see that by going through this process, it could work out well for everyone. However, there have also been criticisms made against the restorative approach which could, in effect, lead to no transformations regarding public debate being made. Some of the criticisms include the fact that restorative justice could potentially cause more harm than good, and that in some cases, it is completely ineffective. The idea of restorative justice appears to be a beneficial thing which could greatly impact society and how we
Restorative justice is the idea that harm caused by a crime can be repaired (Wallis, 2007) and that the victim and community can be restored to how it was previously, rather than resorting to punishing the offender …show more content…
By restorative justice having such a profound impact on the way in which crime and justice is viewed, this could transform public debate completely. People will be more inclined to adopt a more restorative approach to punishment as opposed to a retributive approach. There have been many proven benefits that come with the restorative approach, as highlighted in a Home Office report by Marshall (1999). It was stated that the majority of victims offered the chance of meeting their offender would like to do so and that having been given that opportunity, the great majority looked back on the experience as well worthwhile. Also stated in the report was that research carried out by Umbreit & Coates (1992), Umbreit (1994) and Umbreit et al (1997) showed that there were extremely high levels of victim satisfaction with mediation. Furthermore, the Home Office research showed a small positive effect on recidivism. Zernova (2007) also argues that restorative reforms could produce various benefits for victims, offenders, their communities and society in general. With all of these factors working in favour for the restorative justice system, it is clear to see how this may transform public debate over crime and justice: this new way of punishment not only sees the offender being punished for their crime but also allows for the victim to benefit from the outcome as …show more content…
A potential threat to this way of justice being delivered comes in the form of restorative justice: the idea that the offender should meet with the victim and begin to restore things to the way they had been previously, before the crime had been committed, thus giving the victim a sense of security, as well as integrating the offender back into society which would, effectively, reduce recidivism. It has been argued that restorative justice could transform public debate about crime and justice because of how different it is to the current system.. Researchers have argued that there are many benefits to adopting a restorative approach and they have provided evidence to back that up, thus enabling the public to look at crime and justice differently and see that by going through this process, it could work out well for everyone. However, there have also been criticisms made against the restorative approach which could, in effect, lead to no transformations regarding public debate being made. Some of the criticisms include the fact that restorative justice could potentially cause more harm than good, and that in some cases, it is completely ineffective. The idea of restorative justice appears to be a beneficial thing which could greatly impact society and how we