Restorative justice for adult offenders: the New Zealand Experience.

Source: (2003) In, Lode Walgrave, ed., Repositioning Restorative Justice. Devon: Willan Publishing. Pp. 208-220.

In reality, as Morris and Maxwell comment, most fully integrated restorative justice processes deal with juvenile offenders. Likewise, most jurisdictions introducing such processes tend to do so first for juvenile offenders. However, the authors assert, there is no reason in principle to restrict restorative justice processes to juvenile justice. They point to the experience in New Zealand where restorative processes are gradually being extended to adult offenders at the discretion of individual judges and through a range of pilot programs. To make their case, Morris and Maxwell describe the practice of restorative justice for adult offenders in New Zealand. They highlight the fact that two somewhat different approaches are emerging. On the basis of evaluations of one of those approaches, they contend that adult offenders and their victims benefit from restorative processes even as juvenile offenders and their victims benefit. It is their conclusion that there are clear benefits to the state in extending restorative justice processes to adult offenders.