Ministry of Justice Evaluation: Restorative justice in practice – findings from the second phase of the evaluation of three schemes

This is the second report of the Home office funded pilot studies.

Key points

 The three schemes were generally well implemented; 342 Justice Research Consortium (JRC) cases reached the conference stage; and 50 CONNECT cases and 132 REMEDI cases reached mediation. Though most cases involved adult offenders, victims were pre p a red to p a rticipate. Victim participation was very high where cases involved young off e n d e r s .

 W h e re participants were given a choice of restorative justice event, indirect mediation was m o re commonly chosen than direct mediation or conferencing. However, restricting the choice to a direct meeting with the offender did not reduce participation rates.

In conferences and direct mediations key participants spoke for relatively equal pro p o rtions of time. Though emotion was shown in conferences, they were conducted safely, with little a g g ression. Facilitators were rated by observers as impartial and not dominant.

 O ffenders admitted a lot or quite a lot of responsibility for the offence in 60% of the 217 JRC c o n f e rences observed, with 11% admitting only a little or no re s p o n s i b i l i t y. There was censuring of the offence by participants, but also support for the off e n d e r, though little was said about reintegration into the community.

JRC conferences involved discussion about outcomes and the future, but this was less common in direct or indirect mediation. Outcome agreements focused on rehabilitation for offenders.

 There was some formal monitoring of outcome agreements by JRC (though not by the other two schemes), with 36% of JRC agreements fully completed and 52% partially completed by the end of the funding period. 

25th Jan 2006 | Pilot Studies, criminal justice | Professor Joanna Shapland

Further Reading

• Ministry of Justice evaluation of restorative justice

  ..

  4th Nov 2011 RJC - 60
• Ministry of Justice Evaluation: Does restorative justice affect reconviction? The fourth report from the evaluation of three schemes

  Shapland, J et al (2008) Restorative Justice: Does Restorative Justice affect reconviction. Th ..

  14th Jun 2008 Professor Joanna Shapland - 93
• Ministry of Justice Evaluation: Restorative justice: the views of victims and offenders

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  24th Jun 2007 Professor Joanna Shapland - 420
• Implementing restorative justice schemes

  Implementing restorative justice schemes (Crime Reduction Programme): A report on the first ye ..

  1st Dec 2002 Professor Joanna Shapland - 289