INDEPENDENT
ACADEMIC
RESEARCH
STUDIES
Ministry of Justice Seminars
Restorative Justice Theory & Practice – 25 October 2011
Dr. Theo Gavrielides, Founder & Director
Content
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What is restorative justice?
Restorative justice in the UK
The theory of restorative justice
Restorative justice: the good news
Restorative justice: the bad news
Moving forward
Further Reading
Discussion, Q&A
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What is restorative justice?
Restorative Justice is “an ethos with practical goals, among
which is to restore harm by including affected parties in a
(direct or indirect) encounter and a process of understanding
through voluntary and honest dialogue” (Gavrielides 2007:
139).
Restorative Justice Practices:
• Mediation (direct-indirect)
• Family Group Conferencing
• Healing & Sentencing Circles
• Community Restorative Boards
• It does NOT include Victim Support Schemes (e.g. VIS,
compensation, community service) YOTs, YOPs, caution
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Mediation: a classification for the CJS
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Restorative justice in the UK
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1972 first victim-offender mediation (BACRO)
RJ in the youth justice system (CDA 1998 &YJCEA 1999)
RJ in the CJS – in the shadow of the law
RJ - Community driven/ “bottom-up structure & delivery”
England & Wales - emphasis on diversion
Northern Ireland – emphasis on prevention
Scotland – emphasis on rehabilitation & prevention
International Obligations
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EU Recommendations
EU Directives
Council of Europe Recommendations
United Nations Principles & Recommendations
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Restorative justice theory
• 1970s: Eglash, Barnett, Christie – Abolitionists, alternative
paradigm, “conflicts as property”
• 1980s: Zehr – “Changing Lenses”, Braithwaite – “Reintegrative
shaming”, “Responsive Regulation”
• 1990s – Fatic – “A social theory of trust”, Duff – “Communicative
theory”, Daly “Alternative punishment”
• 2000s – Gavrielides “Restorative Punishment”, Johnstone –
alternative model, Van Ness – forgiveness.
• Communitarian/ Liberal Schools of Thought
• Ethos – theory of life/ justice theory/ CJ theory
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Restorative justice theory: key principles
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Respect and dignity
Equality & diversity
Rule of law, fairness, proportionality and due process
Involvement in decision making and empowerment
Reparation and restoration
Brotherhood and solidarity
Voluntariness
Confidentiality
Freedom from fear
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Restorative Justice: the good news
 Victim satisfaction
 Victim monetary/ material compensation
 Victim non-material compensation (apology, healing)
 Reduction of re-offending (recidivism)
 Offender satisfaction
 Community impact
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Cost-benefit analysis
•“RJ can deliver cost savings of up to £9 for every £1 spent” (Shapland
et al 2008).
•“If RJ were offered to all victims of burglary, robbery and violence
against the person where the offender had pleaded guilty (which would
amount to around 75,000 victims), the cost savings to the criminal
justice system - as a result of a reduction in reconviction rates - would
amount to at least £185 million over two years” (Victim Support 2010)
•“RJ practices would likely lead to a net benefit of over £1billion over
ten years” (Matrix Evidence 2009).
According to the 2010 House of Commons cross party Justice
Committee, in 2007-8 the average cost of a prison place for one adult
was £39,000. Jailing one young offender costs as much as £140,000
per year (£100,000 in direct costs and £40,000 in indirect costs once
they are released)
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Restorative justice: the bad news
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Conceptual conflicts
Consistency & longevity
Training & Accreditation
Funding
Evaluation & monitoring
Watering down the core principles
A developing gap between theory and practice
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Cost-benefit analysis: warning
House of Commons Justice Committee
“We have grave concerns about the impact of efficiency
savings on practice at the frontline for both prisons and
probation, which will undoubtedly undermine the progress
in performance of both services. Neither prisons nor
probation have the capacity to keep up with the current
levels of offenders entering the system. It is not
sustainable to finance the costs of running additional
prison places and greater probation caseloads from
efficiency savings in the long-term” (2010: 10).
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Current opportunities?
• “The big society”
• Emphasis on locality & community led solutions
to crime
• “Breaking the cycle”
• Youth Justice reform
• Prison reform
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How can IARS help? Current Projects
• Restorative Justice and the Secure Estate: Alternatives
for Young People (report & 1 December conference)
• Restorative Justice Theory & Practice: Addressing the
Discrepancy, Helsinki: HEUNI
• A pan-European Strategy for Restorative Justice Project
• Rights & Restoration within Youth Justice, Canada: de
Sitter Publications
• Drawing together research, policy and practice for
restorative justice project
More information: http://iars.org.uk/content/current-projects
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Further reading
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Barnett, R. (1977) 'Restitution: A New Paradigm of Criminal Justice', Ethics: An International Journal of Social,
Political, and Legal Philosophy 87(4), 279-301.
Braithwaite, J. (1997) Crime, Shame and Reintegration, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Braithwaite, J. (2002) Restorative Justice & Responsive Regulation, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Christie, N. (1977) 'Conflicts as Property', British Journal of Criminology 17(1), 1-15.
Daly, K. (2000) 'Revisiting the Relationship between Retributive and RJ', in H. Strang and J. Braithwaite (eds) RJ:
Philosophy to Practice, Aldershot, USA, Singapore, Sydney: Ashgate/Dartmouth.
Gavrielides, T. (2012) Rights and Restoration within youth justice, de Sitter Publications: Canada.
Gavrielides, T. (2007) Restorative Justice Theory and Practice: Addressing the Discrepancy, HEUNI: Helsinki.
Gavrielides, T. (2011). “Restorative Practices: From the Early Societies to the 1970s”. Internet Journal of
Criminology ISSN 2045-6743 (Online).
Gavrielides, T. (2011). Restorative Justice and the Secure Estate: Alternatives for Young People, IARS: London.
Gavrielides, T. (2011). “Restorative Practices & Hate Crime: Opening up the debate”. 14:4 Temida.
Gavrielides, T. (2008) “Restorative justice: the perplexing concept. Conceptual fault lines and power battles within
the restorative justice movement” 8:2 Criminology and Criminal Justice Journal, 165-183
Gavrielides T. and D. Coker (2005) “Restoring Faith: Resolving the Catholic Church’s Sexual Sca,ndals through
Restorative Justice: Working Paper I”, 8:4 Contemporary Justice Review, pp. 345-365
Gavrielides, T. (2004) “Global Restorative Justice: Averting the Middle Age Crisis. Looking into the Discrepancy
Between the Restorative Theory and Practice”, 4:2 International Journal of Comparative Criminology, pp. 263-275.
Gavrielides, T. (2003) “Restorative Justice: Are we there yet? Responding to the Home Office’s Consultation
Questions”, 14:4 Criminal Law Forum, pp. 385-419.
Johnstone, G. (2001) RJ: Ideas, practices, debates, Devon: Willan.
Zehr, H. (1990) Changing Lenses: A New Focus for Crime and Justice, Scottdale, Pennsylvania Waterloo,
Ontario: Herald Press.
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Questions & Contact details
Dr. Theo Gavrielides
Founder & Director, IARS
159 Clapham Road,
London SW9 0PU, UK
[email protected]
020 7820 0945
www.iars.org.uk
Dr. Gavrielides is also a Visiting Professorial Research Fellow at
Panteion University, a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at Open
University and a Visiting Scholar at Mount Royal University
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