85% of overall victims 'satisfied' with Restorative Justice
The Ministry of Justice commissioned an evaluation of three pilot restorative justice schemes, which used a mix of conferencing, mediation and indirect mediation methods.
This research suggests that restorative justice has the potential to be associated with high levels of victim satisfaction.
This is particularly so for the conferencing method of restorative justice, which was associated with 85% overall victim satisfaction.
Surveys on restorative justice have found that victims report an 85% satisfaction rate. A drop of around 14% in reoffending rates was recorded among perpetrators.
The Ministry of Justice set out a strategy to build access, capacity and awareness of restorative justice across the Criminal Justice System, in a Restorative Justice Action Plan.
Restorative Justice sees offenders meet their victims after sentencing Credit: PA Wire
A recent Joint Justice Inspectorates report found that restorative justice in the UK is limited by 'patchy' availability across the country, gaps in access across the stages of the justice system and inconsistent quality of restorative justice being delivered.
Currently Restorative Justice mainly takes place after sentencing.
The aim is for more pre-sentence Restorative Justice based on cases where offenders have already pleaded guilty and expressed remorse.
In criminal justice, restorative processes give victims the chance to:
Tell offenders the real impact of their crime.
Get answers to their questions.
Get an apology.
Restorative justice holds offenders to account for what they have done. It helps them understand the real impact, take responsibility, and make amends.
