A bit (more) of theory Pt. 2

Compared to the business-as-usual model of retributive justice, restorative justice process is more personal and victim-centric where concentrated efforts are made in order for the victim to feel safe, heard, and provided with reparations as brought forward by the victim themselves. A boon and a bane in itself are the various types of RJ that can be organized depending on the case involved and the stakeholders present. four major types of RJ practices that are used the most often are: Victim-Offender Dialogues; Conferences (family group); circle processes ; and Truth Commissions. For something similar to a case involving juvenile delinquents the first three out of the four are routinely used on a case-by-case basis. In the case of RPC practiced at CDR, as mentioned in earlier post, the weekly meetings are conducted via circle processes. Similarly, victim-offender dialogue has been used when the victims themselves want to have a 'dialogue' with the offender, and conferences are also used although I have not witnessed a conference process during my time at CDR.


The case for restorative justice practices to work alongside juvenile court system or as a diversion process is something that has been ongoing for some time now. The Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) model, offered by the Office ofJuvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) aims to provide attention to “enabling offenders to make amends to their victims and community; increasing offender competencies; and protecting the public through processes in which individual victims, the community, and offenders are all active participants”. Similarly, a report by The Smith Institute has provided evidence that RJ “works differently on different kinds of people", although not a major revelation in itself, the report further goes on to show that the process can substantially reduce recidivism on some participants, provides both victims and offenders more satisfaction with justice, reduces the cost of criminal justice when used as a diversion (as used in the case for Teen RPC at CDR), and reduces victim’s post traumatic stress levels.


The two resources I have linked to above have a lot of information on the use of Restorative justice not only in the US, but also in an international arena. As a relative new and developing field, along with a lot of positive reflection, there are still a few gaps in terms of research data and universal applicability. Since RJ is, to a great extent, a very personal experience there is always a need to adjust the model in terms of where it is implemented and for what purpose. This nonuniform nature of RJ both in terms of how it is defined, and how it is implemented practically is one of the main criticism of this process.