ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to reach a better empirical and theoretical understanding of what 'community involvement' means and what work it does in restorative justice. This chapter examines the involvement of the community in one selected practice of restorative justice, namely youth offender panels in England and Wales. The enthusiasm for restorative justice as an alternative way of dealing with crime is especially prominent in the youth offending arena. It has led many youth justice systems across the world to seek transformation by adopting and developing restorative justice principles. This has been the case in England and Wales, particularly after the introduction of referral orders by the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. In early 1997, a series of consultative documents setting out New Labour's plans for a major reform of youth justice were published. The result was the introduction of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, an ambitious and wide-ranging programme of legislative and organizational change.
