Sunday 19 May 2013

Restorative Justice


Historically crime was “against the state”, however victims and their families often feel their needs and wishes are ignored.

Restorative justice aims to redress this balance as victims are allowed to have a say on what happens to the offender. It provides victim with control and choice, a chance to ask questions and explain the impact of their crime to discourage re-offending.

However, it can be a very distressing process for both the victim and the offender, and as details of the crime are brought up, it may be more traumatizing than beneficial for the victim.  

Study: Sherman and Strang (2007) conducted a content analysis of 36 papers which compared re-offending rates of those who'd undergone restorative  justice to those who had not. 

Restorative justice was found to be more effective with a personal victim rather than a business, and especially effective with violent crimes and property crime such as burglary. It was not found to be effective in all cases, and appeared to be more effective in providing peace of mind or reducing post-traumatic stress for the victim than preventing re-offending. 

It was concluded that there was some support for the increased use of restorative justice, particularly with young or first time offenders.

5 comments:

  1. could you please write a model answer for restorative justice
    thank youh

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    1. (a) Describe restorative justice as an alternative to imprisonment (10)

      [please note that this is not a model answer as such because it hasn't received a grade, but can be used as an example of what you could possibly write in the exam]

      After a guilty verdict, an offender may be sentenced to imprisonment, or given an alternative. Various alternatives to imprisonment have been proposed which act as a deterrent, punishment or form of rehabilitation. One which could potentially act as all three is restorative justice.

      Restorative justice is an approach to justice which takes into account the needs of the victim and the offender, rather than focusing on the legal side of justice and the impact to society. Historically, crime was thought to be against the state which meant that individuals' needs may have been overlooked. Restorative justice aims to redress this imbalance by providing the individual with choice and control over what happens to the offender (within reason). This is most often satisfied through giving the victim the chance to confront the offender, to ask questions and show the offender the impact that their crime has had on their lives.

      It is a fairly recent procedure, and as such it is not widely spread. Research has not produced particularly significant findings either for or against the use of restorative justice, though it has been proposed that it may reduce recidivism rates through changing the attitude of the criminal and offer peace of mind to the victim, but also that it is a traumatic process for all involved as details of the crime are retold, and thus it may not always be rewarding.

      Sherman and Strang (2007) conducted a content analysis of 36 papers which compared the recidivism rates of offenders who had undergone restorative justice with those who had not. The results suggested that whilst restorative justice was not effective in all cases, it was most effective when the victim was an individual rather than a corporation, as well as it being more effective when the crime was violent or involved theft. The researchers concluded that restorative justice was somewhat effective in reducing the post traumatic stress of victims.

      Thus, restorative justice is one alternative to imprisonment which focuses on the needs of the individuals involved, in the hope that this will change the attitudes of the offender, reduce recidivism, and offer peace of mind to the victim.

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  2. im really scared abt this :(

    i revised a lot but then i forget what i learnt the next day..
    is there any ways in remembering the studies facts...

    So Frigging scared...first A2 exam as well
    ;(
    HELPPPP PLEASE D:

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    Replies
    1. A little bit of stress is good for you because it means you're motivated, but don't get too scared. So long as you keep at it, you'll keep getting better.

      I have a post called "Tips on revising for G543" which you might want to check out.

      Here's some additional tips for you:

      Revise efficiently. If you're finding you're forgetting everything, it might be that you're trying to cram too much and the method isn't working for you. Try revising in short periods of time, such as half an hour and then take a 10 min break to let yourself relax. Don't revise late at night because you really need sleep to memorize what you've been learning.

      Maybe try discussing theories with a family member or friend, because if you know it well enough to explain to someone, then you can probably answer a question about it in an exam.

      If you're really struggling to remember percentages, you might want to just learn facts like "the therapy groups had significantly lower..." rather than "they had XX% lower..", but if you can remember the percentages, it's always worth giving it a shot.

      Vary your revision, make sure you're doing some written notes and some past papers.

      Eat well and look after yourself too. You need to be having enough water to focus, and try to find a good working environment. If you get distracted at home, work in the library, etc.

      Don't be scared. If you keep at it, you'll get there.

      Best of luck!

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  3. Sooo helpful, thank you. Eliminate Hsv-1&2 (Herpes) Robinsonbucler@ gmail com....

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