Restoring Communities and Young Offenders - a Critical Evaluation of Restorative Justice

Restoring Communities and Young Offenders?
A critical evaluation of restorative Justice.

CONTENTS

Introduction 2
Part 1: Definitions and Origins 3
  What is Restorative Justice? 3
  Locating Restorative Justice within the Criminological Spectrum 4
  Origins 5
Part 2: Applying Restorative Processes within Youth Justice 7
  Victim - Offender Mediation (VOM) 8
  Family Group Conferencing 10
    UK Practice- 11
    The Crime and Disorder Act (1998) / The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (1999) 14
  Restorative Police Cautioning 16
Part 3: Critical Issues 17
Conclusion 21
References 23

Introduction

This report provides an evaluation and analysis of Restorative Justice, its relevance to youth offending and its potential for restoring communities. The report is formed of three main sections, with relevant subsections, that consider definitions, origins, theoretical perspectives, specific applications and critical issues. The report highlights a mounting consensus and movement towards restorative justice processes, within criminological, academic, political, philanthropic and anthropological spheres - despite tensions over its implementation, detail and position within, or juxtaposed to, the current dominant justice model. The report concludes that concepts of restorative justice are not as clear-cut or utopian as some might claim but neither are they the ‘soft option’ that others suggest. Restorative processes, the report concludes emphasize responsibilities and accountability, better provide for the needs of victims, promote concepts of community, reinforce social values and so hold potential as an approach to the problem of ‘crime’ (for some cases, some of the time) in this twenty first century.

Part 1: Definitions and Origins

What is Restorative Justice?

Producing universally accepted and comprehensive definitions within the criminal justice domain (as in all social spheres) is wrought with difficulty, because the meanings of... [continues]

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