BENEFITS OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
Benefits for the victim
-
Having a voice in more meaningful accountability for the person responsible
-
Having a chance to be heard and understood
-
Being able to express the impact of the crime, and the losses and harms sustained
-
To ask questions and to receive information that can assist in closure and healing
Benefits for the responsible party
-
The difficult, but important act of taking direct, personal responsibility for the offence
-
The opportunity to experience, express and demonstrate genuine remorse
-
The opportunity to make amends and provide restitution in a timely way
-
The opportunity to learn from their experience
-
The opportunity to put the offence behind them and move on with their lives through making meaningful amends.
Restorative Justice is…
-
Timely (much quicker than a court process)
-
Proportionate and fair to both harmed party and person responsible
-
Based on accountability and repairing harm
-
Based on the voluntary participation of harmed party and responsible party (non-coercive)
-
Works toward resolutions that include a specific restitution plan with follow-through
-
An intervention that has a high success rate in reducing recidivism (re-offending), because of the impact of having to face the victim and take responsibility