BENEFITS OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
Benefits for the victim
- Having a voice in more meaningful accountability for the offender
- 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 offender
- 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 victim and offender
- Based on accountability and repairing harm
- Based on the voluntary participation of victim and offender (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