Restorative justice

Uncommon card · No. 128026

In criminology, restorative justice is a method or ethos of criminal justice and youth justice that seeks to repair harm after crime or violence by empowering the harmed (victims) and harming parties (offenders) to participate in a dialogue. In doing so, restorative justice practitioners work to ensure that offenders take responsibility for their actions, to understand the harm they have caused, to give them an opportunity to redeem themselves, and to discourage them from causing further harm. For victims, the goal is to give them an active role in the process and to reduce feelings of anxiety, unfairness and powerlessness. Restorative justice programmes are complementary to the criminal justice system, including retributive justice. In the matter of defining what "punishment" is, it has been argued that some cases of restorative justice constitute an alternative punishment to those atoning. Through academic assessment, restorative justice has rendered positive results for both victims...

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