ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the concepts, principles, and practices of restorative approaches to addressing the harm caused by criminal behaviour. While restorative justice strives to balance the needs and interests of victims, society, and offenders, emphasis will be given to its relevance and effectiveness in relation to concerns within the criminal justice system, supporting desistance from offending, compliance to court orders, and reducing the use of custody through increased use of community supervision. It will do so by summarizing relevant research findings in the field of restorative justice and describing how restorative processes can address these concerns. It will also warn that positive outcomes can only be achieved if the criminal justice system respects the restorative space and avoids the tendency to use restorative justice in a mechanistic and instrumental way. Research findings will illustrate how the dominance of system values and priorities can stifle the effectiveness of restorative processes. The chapter concludes with some indications of how restorative justice could enhance the effectiveness and credibility of working with offenders.
