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Restorative practice for the social re-integration of offenders in the United Kingdom.

Smith, Vicki
June 4, 2015

Source: (2010) In, Melinda Gyokos and Krisztina Lanyi, eds., European best practices of restorative justice in criminal Procedure. Budapest: Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement, Republic of Hungary.pp. 252-257.

“Justice” in the traditional punitive sense, does not always fulfill a victim’s view of what “justice” means. In the United Kingdom, the criminal justice system is based on retributive justice and this idea of working out the harm caused by the offender, and then sentencing him/her with the appropriate level of “harm” back does not always meet the needs of the victim, or the offender, like restorative justice can. If one contrasts the terminology of criminal justice: punishment, zero tolerance, criminal personality, with that of restorative justice: empowerment, social justice, healing; the difference is clear. (excerpt)

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