In Other News

Restorative Justice Disposals are ‘What Works’ according to Inspectorates report on out-of-court disposals

A report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies and the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate on out-of-court disposals, which account for one in three of the 1.29 million offences brought to justice each year, concludes that “RJ appears to work well, and is well-liked by operational police officers. RJ disposals in the review showed low re-offending rates, high satisfaction rates and were relatively time-efficient compared to most other out-of-court disposals.”

The report also found that RJ disposals had the lowest reoffending rate and that “the results are not simply explained by the fact that offenders are lower on the offending ladder, and may be attributed to the process itself.” And whilst over a quarter (27.5%) of restorative justice disposals were used ‘inappropriately’ according to local guidelines this was better than most other disposals – the use of simple cautions was deemed ‘inappropriate’ in 38% of cases.

The report recommended “All forces should review their use of restorative justice disposals and consider an extension of their use to include adult offenders.”

The report Exercising Discretion: Gateways to Justice and press release are available at www.hmcpsi.gov.uk. 

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20th Jul 2011