Why Restorative Justice? - Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

THE NEED FOR CHANGE
appear as witnesses. Hence the reluctance of so many witnesses
and victims to report crimes, make statements or testify in court.
Even when victims are awarded compensation, the impact of
suffering on those who may depend on them is often left out of the
calculation. Moreover victims with a criminal record receive
reduced or no compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation
Authority. Once convicted of a crime, it would seem that a
person’s right to be considered a victim is greatly diminished. And
yet the line between victim and offender is seldom so clear.
For offenders, the court process does the opposite of what is
intended. It can help to distance them from what happened.
Although the spotlight is on the person in the dock, the offender
takes little part in the proceedings. Watching passively as their lives
are discussed in complicated language by strangers, offenders often
cannot hear or understand what is going on. It is their lawyer’s job
to argue on their behalf and get them off, whether they are guilty
or innocent. Sometimes their lawyer may even blame the victim for
bringing ‘the crime’ on themselves, as in many rape cases.
The threat of serious punishment makes the legal system
mindful of protecting the rights of the accused. But this often
defeats the goal of accountability. So some guilty people plead not
guilty in the hope of escaping punishment. Others plead guilty
to reduce their sentence, rather than out of remorse and a desire to
make good the harm they have done. When they do this as a tactic,
it is not only the state that loses, but the victim and the community.
The offender, if found guilty, is given a sentence, but in some
cases their families are also punished. For example, mothers are
imprisoned even for relatively minor offences, despite the impact
on their children. Wage earners who support whole families have
their livelihoods put at risk even by short sentences, imposed to
‘teach them a lesson’ rather than to protect the community. The
longer-term damage to the offender’s family is ignored.
The courts are often accused of unfairness by both victim and
offender. The convicted person and their supporters may see the
sentence as unjustly heavy, while the victim and their friends see
it as too soft. The local media may chime in with their disapproval.
This leaves magistrates or judges in a ‘no-win’ situation where the
sentences they pass are criticised on all sides.
This dissatisfaction is compounded if, as often happens, the
14