What is restorative justice?
Restorative justice views crime first as harm done to people and relationships, not just as a violation of state law, and asks victims, offenders and the community to work together to repair the harm and prevent it from happening again. Criminologist Howard Zehr popularized the approach in his 1990 book *Changing Lenses*, which urged a new "lens" for seeing crime and justice.
- Meaning
- Justice centered on repairing harm and relationships
- Key thinker
- Howard Zehr (1990)
- Participants
- Victim, offender, families and community
- Common forms
- Victim–offender dialogue, conferencing, circles
Retributive vs. restorative justice
| Question | Retributive justice | Restorative justice |
|---|---|---|
| What was violated? | The law of the state | People and relationships |
| Who is at the center? | The state and the defendant | Victim, offender and community |
| What should happen? | Punishment proportionate to the offense | Repair of harm and active accountability |
| Victim’s role | Mainly a witness | A participant in the process |
For theories about the purposes of punishment, see theories of punishment.
Main models
- Victim–offender dialogue (mediation): with a trained facilitator, the two parties meet to talk about the harm and responsibility.
- Family group conferencing: the young offender’s family, the victim and community members create a plan together. New Zealand put this at the heart of youth justice in its Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989.
- Circles: participants sit in a circle and speak in turn; schools in the U.S. and elsewhere use restorative circles to handle conflict instead of relying only on suspension.
What the research shows
Does meeting face to face really make a difference? Strang and colleagues (2013) reviewed 10 randomized trials in the UK, the U.S. and Australia involving 1,879 offenders. Offenders assigned to face-to-face restorative justice conferences committed modestly fewer repeat offenses over two years than those who went through standard criminal justice alone. Victims were more satisfied, more likely to receive an apology they saw as sincere, less inclined to seek revenge and showed fewer post-traumatic stress symptoms.
Crucially, these findings apply to cases in which both victim and offender freely consented to meet.
Limits and debates
- Victims must never be pressured to reconcile. A meeting without genuine consent can retraumatize.
- Cases with large power imbalances, such as domestic or sexual violence, call for great caution.
- Process quality matters. Without skilled facilitators, a conference can become a negotiation over money.
For explanations of why young people offend, see theories of juvenile delinquency.
Frequently asked questions
- What is restorative justice?
- It is an approach that treats crime as harm to people and relationships and brings victims, offenders and communities together to repair the harm and prevent reoffending.
- How is restorative justice different from retributive justice?
- Retributive justice focuses on punishment proportionate to the offense, while restorative justice focuses on repairing harm, offender accountability and restoring relationships.
- Does restorative justice reduce reoffending?
- A 2013 Campbell systematic review of 10 randomized trials found a modest reduction in repeat offending, along with higher victim satisfaction, when both parties consented to meet.
References
- Zehr, H. (1990). Changing lenses: A new focus for crime and justice. Herald Press.
- Strang, H., Sherman, L. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., Woods, D., & Ariel, B. (2013). Restorative justice conferencing (RJC) using face-to-face meetings of offenders and victims: Effects on offender recidivism and victim satisfaction. A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 9(1), 1–59. https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2013.12