Protocol for a Campbell Collaboration Systematic Review: Effects of Face-to-Face Restorative Justice for Personal Victim Crimes

Source: (2004) Campbell Crime and Justice Group, Campbell Collaboration. Downloaded 21 February 2005.

The proposed review will focus on the subset of face-to-face restorative justice that has been studied most carefully and extensively. That subset is known as conferencing, where as many as possible of the principals involved in the crime meet in the presence of their families, friends or both, even though it is possible to hold a conference without supporters and even without the offender or without the direct victim. At the conference, any victims (or their representatives) present have the opportunity to describe the full extent of the harm a crime has caused, offenders are required to listen to the victims (or their representatives) and to understand the consequences of their own actions, and all participants are invited to deliberate about what actions the offender could take to repair the harm. The pre-condition of such a conference is that the offender does not dispute the fact that he is responsible for the harm caused, and that the conference cannot and will not become a trial to determine what happened. (excerpt)