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Restorative justice and the victim: The English Experience.

Wright, Martin
June 4, 2015

Source: (2004) Paper to seminar at École Nationale de la Magistrature, Paris, 6-7 May 2004.

The recent history of restorative justice in England and Wales is of small experiments, a renaissance, a takeover by the government, and a struggle by those who believe in the concept to preserve its ideals. I will begin by giving a picture of the most widespread version of restorative justice as it operates in England and Wales at present. I will then say a word about the concept of ‘restorativeness’, and describe the development of restorative justice in England and Wales in the last four decades: compensation, Victim Support, victim/offender mediation, conferencing, and the most recent policy developments. After a word about what restorative justice needs, especially from the victim’s point of view, I will give short case histories to show to how the current version of restorative justice operates for juvenile offenders. Finally I will suggest how it could develop so as to bring the greatest benefits both to victims and to the community. (excerpt)

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