NCJ Number
199565
Date Published
2002
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This chapter discusses the future of restorative justice.
Abstract
In the historical background and development of restorative justice, the terms restitution, reparation, compensation, atonement, redress, community service, mediation, and indemnification have been used interchangeably. Restorative justice focuses on losses, repairs the damage inflicted, seeks satisfied parties, and views the victim as the central person of the whole process. The importance of restorative justice philosophy can be seen in the fact that it has been incorporated in newer concepts of policing, prevention programs, and within the context of justice systems. The newest developments of restorative justice, such as family group conferences, peace circles, or circle hearings, are used by indigenous people such as the Aboriginals, Inuit, Native Americans, and Africans. Despite these developments, there has been very little achieved by restorative justice. The majority of crimes in the world go undetected, and 90 percent of victims are victims of white-collar crime without even realizing they have been victims. The question remains whether parts of the current justice system are needed to guarantee the rights of offenders. There are offenders for whom the restorative justice approach will not work and that have to be incarcerated in order to protect society. Restorative justice models are usually plagued by not admitting minorities, competing agencies with unclear missions, and poor planning and implementation. Restorative justice and victim-offender mediation programs are developed in an unsystematic way, vary greatly from region to region, and have almost no importance in countries that have a strong victim support system. Research is needed to determine if victim-offender mediation and restorative justice schemes work better than the traditional judicial procedures. The long-term effects of mediation or restorative practices on the victims, offenders, and all other people involved should be studied. Some form of quality control for restorative justice programs should be invented. 40 references