ABSTRACT
This chapter briefly overviews 30 years of evaluation research of restorative justice programmes 1 from 1971–2001 to see what evidence we can bring to bear on the probable truth or falsity of restorative justice as a credible response to crime and conflicts in society. The large volume of assessment research of restorative justice programmes makes it difficult to present the breadth of the research while still providing a useful overview in a single chapter. Therefore, I endeavour to follow the advice of Albert Einstein, who said ‘make things as simple as possible, but no simpler.’
Nothing can be ‘proved’ scientifically – experimental methods of inquiry are not methods of proof. Research methodology provides controlled methods to bring objective evidence to bear on the probable truth or falsity of relational propositions (Kerlinger 1973:1 55–156).
