Advantages of restorative justice

1. For offenders
2. For the offender's family and community
3. Victims
4. The wider community
5. The justice system
6. Cultural Diversity

For offenders:

• Uses age and developmentally appropriate dynamics to change the young person's thinking and behaviour;
• Focuses on addressing offending behaviour in a pragmatic and respectful manner;
• Models socially appropriate solutions to conflict;
• Avoids excessive and longer term criminal justice interventions;
• Encourages the family, family group and/or significant others to support their young person;
• Enables the young person to contribute to an outcome plan;
• Allows for reparation to the victim directly or indirectly where appropriate; and
• Facilitates an opportunity for restoration to the family, family group and reintegration within the community.

For an offenders family/community group:

• Enables effective participation in the decision-making and planning process;
• Shares the responsibility for supporting the young person with other members of his/her support network; and
• Examines the impact of the young person's offending on his/her family/family group.

Victims:

• Allows for active participation in the justice process;
• Reduces the cost of follow-up counselling through facilitating a 'healing" resolution ;
• Enables victims to benefit from reparation where appropriate; and
• Consults victims in a respectful and non-adversarial manner.

The wider community:

• Provides an opportunity for a diverse range of relationships to form.
• Promotes healing and a restoration of harmony in the community.

The justice system:

• Offers an alternative sentencing and diversion option to the courts;
• Promotes improved victim satisfaction with the justice process; and
• Promotes the community's trust in the justice system.

Cultural Diversity:

• Recognises and responds to cultural diversity.
• Encourages the involvement of family members and other significant members of the offender's community.
• Takes advantage of resources and networks that are already available in lthe family and community.
  
  See also: Department of Human Services (Vic.), Framework for the Delivery of Metropolitan Juvenile Justice Group Conferencing, June, 2002)

 

 

 

Copyright 2007
Victorian Association for Restorative Justice, Inc.
ABN: 56 898 041 553