Implications of growth: Challenges for restorative justice.

Source: (2013) International Review of Victimmology. Published online before print November 10, 2013, doi: 10.1177/0269758013510808

Restorative justice has been growing around the world in terms of its implementation, often allied to criminal justice. Its growth and increasing mainstreaming, however, reignite theoretical and practical debates current some 20 years ago but none the less valid now. They include the effects of increasing closeness to the state and to justice definitions of crime, as well as tensions for mediators and facilitators. Particularly, there is a need to draw together the common values and aims in the use of restorative justice for an increasing diversity of offences, including more serious offences and its use with adult offenders. We cannot turn back the clock, and it would be curmudgeonly to try to hold back the availability of restorative justice for victims and offenders who appreciate it and find it helpful. However, we can, and should, continue to reflect upon how the core values of restorative justice can be used to develop what are the most helpful theoretical perspectives for restorative justice for scenarios where it is not only to be used for the minority, or for diverted cases, but also leads to criminal justice decisions, such as sentences, which will be confirmed or altered by criminal justice actors. (author’s abstract)