Source: (2004) Paper presented at the Third Conference of the European Forum for Victim-Offender Mediation and Restorative Justice, “Restorative Justice in Europe: Where are we heading?”, Budapest, Hungary, 14-16 October. Downloaded 24 May 2005.
The results of the empirical research on success and acceptance of restorative justice are better than expected, but they are not taken into account and are not implemented adequately by the legal practitioners. Due to the internal perspective and the fact that referrals are dependent on legal practitioners, the
full potential concerning application and efficiency of restorative justice cannot be tapped satisfactorily. The dialogue with the public is a neglected element in the development of restorative justice and has to be intensified. Those affected by crimes should be informed very early about the possibility of out-of-court conflict settlements and reparation. It is important to take increased efforts to establish agreeable offers of conflict settlements which are at the same time top-quality and within close range. Apart from informing the
general public via various media, the extension of a network with new cooperation partners (schools, police, district offices, quarter mangers, church communities, priest, doctors, crisis line, victim support, crime prevention organisations) is of vital importance. (excerpt)
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