Why Restorative Justice? - Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

THE OFFENDER
reintegrate the offender into the community rather than exclude
them permanently. He calls this ‘reintegrative shaming’. 21
Braithwaite noticed that crime is low in societies where
shame is important but does not lead to the offender being cast
out. He drew on Aboriginal experience and helped the spread of
restorative justice in Australia and New Zealand. Thus shame can be
a key ingredient for change where restorative justice is used, provided
that it seeks to reintegrate the offender back into the community.
Assessing the value of mediation to offenders
Although many offenders find meeting their victims a daunting
prospect, research on their attitudes after mediation has shown
positive results. In the Umbreit and Roberts research in 1996 in
Coventry and Leeds, 90% of offenders were satisfied with the outcome,
and said it was important to apologise to the victim. 22 In the
MARVEL Mediation Service for young offenders in 1997, 90% of
offenders were satisfied or very satisfied with the service, and 91%
would recommend it to a friend. In the SACRO scheme in
Aberdeen in 1996–7, this figure was 87%. 23
Moreover reparation and compensation that has been agreed
through mediation has more chance of being completed, because
offenders understand why it is needed. In the Northamptonshire
Diversion Unit in 1994–5, 93% of compensation was paid after
being agreed through mediation, compared with 48% of compensation
ordered by the Inner London Youth Court. 24
Reoffending
It is much more difficult to research the effect of restorative justice
on recidivism. Despite the confidence with which politicians and
media cite crime statistics, the measurement of reoffending is a
21 J. Braithwaite, Crime, Shame and Reintegration (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1989).
22 M. Umbreit and A. Roberts, Mediation of Criminal Conflict in England: An assessment of services in
Coventry and Leeds (St Paul, MN, University of Minnesota, Center for Restorative Justice and
Mediation, 1996), pp. 14 and 23.
23 S. Braithwaite and M. Liebmann, Restorative Justice – Does It Work? (Bristol, Mediation UK,
1997), pp. 11–17.
24 Ibid. pp. 9–10.
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