ABSTRACT
Introduction Up until the late 1980s, restorative processes were primarily thought of in terms of mediation programmes that brought victims and offenders together, either in a face-to-face meeting or via messages delivered by a trained volunteer known as a mediator (Umbreit and Zehr 1996a). Following the emergence of family group conferencing in New Zealand, the nature and practice of restorative justice changed dramatically. Facilitators became trained officials1 rather than volunteers and the number of participants increased to include friends, families and other interested parties (Umbreit and Zehr 1996a). This initiative subsequently elicited a flurry of international academic study and police experimentation with this new and innovative approach to dealing with crime, as Umbreit and Zehr note:
Rarely has a new criminal justice idea received such quick exposure and interest from audiences as widespread as activists, professionals and the general public. No other restorative justice approach has so quickly brought such numbers of law enforcement officials ‘to the table’ as active stakeholders in the restorative justice movement.
