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What on earth is restorative justice?

Clark, Deborah
June 4, 2015

Source: (2001) Criminal Justice Management (November).

In the first of two articles in this journal, Deborah Clark provides an overview of some key principles of restorative justice for those unfamiliar with it. Restorative justice focuses on the victim, offender, and community to rebuild lives and relationships to the extent possible. This means the victim is included in a way which is not the case in the current criminal justice system. For the offender, it means the offense is against a person, not an impersonal “state,â€? and so the offender must take responsibility for his or her actions as they affect a person. Clark argues that restorative justice works in terms of reducing recidivism and in supporting victims.

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