“Restorative justice and family group conferences in England: Current state and future prospects.”

Source: (2001) In Restorative justice for juveniles: Conferencing, mediation and circles, ed. Allison Morris and Gabrielle Maxwell, 85-101. With a foreword by DJ Carruthers. Oxford: Hart Publishing.

In this study, Dignan and Marsh survey recent developments in restorative justice in England, particularly in relation to family group conferencing. They also comment on the prospects for restorative justice in England. From their perspective, the long term viability of conferencing increases when it is formally incorporated into the criminal justice system. With this in mind, several recently developed family group conferencing programs for young offenders are described, as are significant legislative acts that begin to integrate a restorative justice approach within the English criminal justice system. This leads to consideration of what is needed to shape a professional restorative justice culture. While noting certain reservations they have, Dignan and Marsh express a cautious optimism about prospects for integrating restorative justice into the youth justice system in England.