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What does the Ministry of Justice research into restorative justice tell us?

The Ministry of Justice funded three pilots of restorative justice with serious offences (robbery, burglary and violent offences) including an evaluation by the University of Sheffield. This seven year, £7million research programme provides some of the most robust evidence internationally on the impact of restorative justice.

Across four reports Professor Joanna Shapland produced important findings regarding the implementation of restorative justice, victim participation, the views of victims and offenders and the impact of restorative justice on reoffending.

The Restorative Justice Council has updated our summary of this research to provide a four page document containing the key findings of each report and relevant developments since its publication.

Key findings include: 

  • a reduction in the frequency of re-offending following restorative justice conferencing of between 14% and 27%
  • 77% victim participation in face to face meetings involving adult offenders, and up to 89% victim participation in cases involving young offenders. 
  • 85% victim satisfaction with their experience of the RJ conference
  • cost-savings on average of £9 to £1 spent – through reductions in the frequency of offending RJ saved the CJS 9 times what it cost to deliver.

The updated RJC briefing document can be found by following the link below.

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4th Nov 2011

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