PHIL103: Moral and Political Philosophy

Restorative justice requires a form of meeting between the offender and the victim. A 2013 Cochrane review stressed the need for the offender to meet the victim face-to-face. In addition, the meeting may include people representing the wider community.

Suggested reasons for why it can be effective include:

• The offender has to learn about the harm they have caused to their victim, making it hard for them to justify their behavior.
•  It offers a chance to discuss moral development to offenders who may have had little of it in their life.
• Offenders are more likely to view their punishment as legitimate.
• The programs tend to avoid shaming and stigmatizing the offender.

Many restorative justice systems, especially victim–offender mediation and family group conferencing, require participants to sign a confidentiality agreement. These agreements usually state that conference discussions will not be disclosed to nonparticipants. The rationale for confidentiality is that it promotes open and honest communication.

Victim-offender dialogue

Victim–offender dialogue (VOD), (also called victim–offender mediation, victim–offender conferencing, victim–offender reconciliation, or restorative justice dialogue), is usually a meeting, in the presence of one or two trained facilitators, between victim and offender. This system generally involves few participants, and often is the only option available to incarcerated offenders. Victim Offender Dialogue originated in Canada as part of an alternative court sanction in a 1974 Kitchener, Ontario case involving two accused vandals who met face-to-face with their many victims. One of the first victim–offender mediation projects in the United Kingdom was run by South Yorkshire Probation Service from 1983–1986.

Family group conferencing

Family group conferencing (FGC) has a wider circle of participants than VOD, adding people connected to the primary parties, such as family, friends and professionals. FGC is most commonly used for juvenile cases, due to the important role of the family in a juvenile offender's life. Examples can be found in New South Wales (Australia) under the 1997 Young Offenders Act, and in New Zealand under the 1989 Children, Young Persons, and their Families Act. The New South Wales scheme has been favorably evaluated by the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

Fiji uses this form of mediation when dealing with cases of child sexual assault. While it may be seen as beneficial to involve the victim's family in the process, there are multiple issues stemming from this. For example, the vast majority of offenders are known to the victims in these cases. In a Fijian context, the notion of family extends wider than that of the normative Western idea. Therefore, involving the family in these cases may become complicated, for the family may not necessarily side with the victim or the process itself could cause rifts within the clan. Furthermore, the process as a whole places much emphasis on the victim forgiving the offender, as opposed to the offender making amends with the victim. Overall, the current process has the potential to cause great trauma and revictimise the victim.

Restorative conferences

Restorative conferences (RC) involves a wider circle of participants than VOD and FGC. There are many different names and procedures of operation for these community-based meetings. They are also referred to as Restorative Circles, Restorative Justice Conferences, Community Restorative Boards or Community Accountability Conferences. Specific programs have their own names, such as Community Justice Committees in Canada and Referral Order Panels in England & Wales. Restorative Circles refers to restorative justice conferences in Brazil and Hawaii, though can have a wider meaning in the field of restorative practices.

A conference will typically include the victim, the offender and members of the local community, who have typically received some training. The family and friends of the offender and victim are frequently invited. RC is explicitly victim-sensitive. The community members discuss the nature and impact of the offense with the offender. The discussion continues until restitution is agreed; they may also see that the agreement is fulfilled.

The largest restorative justice conference in history took place in the course of the 1990 reconciliation campaign that ended the blood feuds among ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, which was attended by between 100,000 and 500,000 participants. The reconciliation campaign was led by Anton Çetta, and over a period of three years (1990-1992) approximately one third of the entire population of Kosovo were documented to be actively involved in restorative justice conferences to end the blood feuds.

Circles of Support and Accountability

Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) originated as a project of the "Welcome In", a Mennonite church in Hamilton, Ontario. This approach has demonstrated the capacity to enhance the safe integration of otherwise high-risk sex offenders with their community. Canada judges some sex offenders too dangerous for any form of conditional release, "detaining" them until they serve their entire sentence. A subsequent conviction often leads to designation as a "Dangerous Offender".

Prior to 1994, many such offenders were released without any support or observation beyond police surveillance. Between 1994 and 2007, CoSA assisted with the integration of well over 120 such offenders. Research indicated that surrounding a 'core member' with 5–7 trained volunteer circle members reduced recidivism by nearly 80%. Further, recidivist offences were less invasive and less brutal than without the program. CoSA projects now exist in every Canadian province and every major urban centre. CoSA projects are also operational in several U.S. states (Iowa, California, Minnesota, Oregon, Ohio, Colorado, Vermont) as well as in several United Kingdom regions (Cornwall, Devon, Hampshire, Thames Valley, Leicestershire, North Wales, North Yorkshire, and Manchester).

Sentencing circles

Sentencing circles (sometimes called peacemaking circles) use traditional circle ritual and structure to involve all interested parties. The procedure commonly works as follows: the offender applies for the intervention, a healing circle is held for the victim, a healing circle is held for the offender, a sentencing circle is held and finally, follow-up circles to monitor progress.