ABSTRACT
Restorative justice is a distinctive alternative to rival theories of punishment. All theories of punishment justify the use of imprisonment under certain circumstances. Restorative justice is an exception. Many proponents identify restorative justice with penal ‘abolition’ – calling themselves ‘abolitionists’ – to draw attention to their desire to provide an alternative to sentencing and the potential future abolition of prison. This distinctive, even radical, alternative offers a major challenge to traditional approaches to punishment. This chapter examines this alternative as an alternative theory of punishment and consider its effectiveness as an approach to crime reduction. Restorative justice may take several forms, and its flexibility to handle diverse cases and needs is believed to be its advantage over alternative theories of punishment in addition to potential monetary savings. Additionally, restorative justice facilitates criminal justice that may respect parties as stakeholders and without the need for a criminal trial.
