Explore the vast range of titles available.

Restorative justice has made significant progress in recent years and now plays an increasingly important role in and alongside the criminal justice systems of a number of countries in different parts of the world. In many cases, however, successes and failures, strengths and weaknesses have not been evaluated sufficiently systematically and comprehensively, and it has been difficult to gain an accurate picture of its implementation and the lessons to be drawn from this. Restorative Justice in Practice addresses this need, analyzing the results of the implementation of three restorative justice schemes in England and Wales in the largest and most complete trial of restorative justice with adult offenders worldwide. It aims to bring out the practicalities of setting up and running restorative justice schemes in connection with criminal justice, the costs of doing so and the key professional and ethical issues involved. At the same time the book situates these findings within the growing international academic and policy debates about restorative justice, addressing a number of key issues for criminal justice and penology, including: how far victim expectations of justice are and can be met by restorative justice aligned with criminal justice whether ‘community’ is involved in restorative justice for adult offenders and how this relates to social capital how far restorative justice events relate to processes of desistance (giving up crime), promote reductions in reoffending and link to resettlement what stages of criminal justice may be most suitable for restorative justice and how this relates to victim and offender needs the usefulness of conferencing and mediation as forms of restorative justice with adults. Restorative Justice in Practice will be essential reading for both students and practitioners, and a key contribution to the restorative justice debate. \"This seven year study is the most important research evidence on restorative justice (RJ) in this country. The work challenges some of the myths around restorative justice – for example the finding that 70% of victims of serious crimes chose to meet the offender when this was offered to them, challenges the prevailing view that RJ is only appropriate for less serious crime. Her research has confirmed earlier findings of the strong victim benefits from restorative justice; and provided new evidence for the impact of RJ in reducing re-offending, leading to cost-savings across Criminal Justice. This book will provide essential reading for policy makers interested in evidence-based policy; for criminal justice agencies seeking to give victims a stronger voice in justice; and includes a wealth of information for practitioners who want to know 'what works' and base their restorative practice on the evidence.\" – Lizzie Nelson, Director, Restorative Justice Council 'This book provides a state-of-the-art analysis of restorative justice, conferences, and mediation for serious cases and adult offenders. 　It is essential reading for policymakers and practitioners who wish to develop restorative justice schemes that work alongside conventional criminal justice. 　Its comprehensive and measured analysis is a welcome addition to the research literature. 　This is a scholarly treatment of restorative justice for the real world and ways to move it from the margins to the mainstream of criminal justice.' – Kathleen Daly, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University, Australia 'The authors promised to provide \"essential reading\" for students and practioners. They have met that promise in regard to both their description of applications of RJ in the adult justice system (pre-trial, during sentencing formulation, and post sentencing) and in their many probing questions regarding RJ in general.'　 -Eric Assur, in the Restorative Justice Online blog, 2 March 2012 Joanna Shapland is Professor of Criminal Justice in the School of Law, University of Sheffield, and Head of the School of Law; Gwen Robinson is Senior Lecturer in Criminal Justice in the School of Law at the University of Sheffield; Angela Sorsby is a freelance criminologist specialising in data analysis and statistics. 1. Setting the Scene 2. Setting the Schemes in Context: A Review of the Aims, Histories and Results of Restorative Justice 3. Setting Up and Running Restorative Justice Schemes 4. Accountability, Regulation and Risk Experiencing Restorative Justice 5. Approaching Restorative Justice 6. Through a Different Lens: Examining Restorative Justice Using Case Studies 7. During Restorative Justice Events Looking Back at Restorative Justice: What Do People Think it Achieved? 8. The Victims’ View: Satisfaction and Closure 9. Outcome Agreements and their Progress 10. The Offenders’ View: Reoffending and the Road to Desistance 11. Restorative Justice: Lessons from Practice

The legitimacy and performance of the traditional criminal justice system is the subject of intense scrutiny as the world economic crisis continues to put pressure on governments to cut the costs of the criminal justice system. This volume brings together the leading work on restorative justice to achieve two objectives: to construct a comprehensive and up-to-date conceptual framework for restorative justice suitable even for newcomers; and to challenge the barriers of restorative justice in the hope of taking its theory and practice a step further. The selected articles start by answering some fundamental questions about restorative justice regarding its historical and philosophical origins, and challenge the concept by bringing into the debate the human rights and equality discourses. Also included is material based on empirical testing of restorative justice claims especially those impacting on reoffending rates, victim satisfaction and reintegration. The volume concludes with a critique of restorative justice as well as with analytical thinking that aims to push its barriers. It is hoped that the investigations offered by this volume not only offer hope for a better system for abolitionists and reformists, but also new and convincing evidence to persuade the sceptics in the debate over restorative justice. Theo Gavrielides is an international expert in criminal justice and human rights theory, policy and practice. His current research is at the cutting edge of restorative justice and juvenile justice. He is an advisor to governments and international bodies, and is a pioneer of user-led methods of research, policy and legislative reform. He is the founder and Director of the international think-tank Independent Academic Research Studies (IARS), and the founder and co-Director of the Restorative Justice for All international institute. He is also a Visiting Professor in Canadian and British universities.

A wide variety of problem-solving courts have been developed in the United States over the past two decades and are now being adopted in countries around the world. These innovative courts--including drug courts, community courts, domestic violence courts, and mental health courts--do not simply adjudicate offenders. Rather, they attempt to solve the problems underlying such criminal behaviors as petty theft, prostitution, and drug offenses.Legal Accents, Legal Borrowingis a study of the international problem-solving court movement and the first comparative analysis of the development of these courts in the United States and the other countries where the movement is most advanced: England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and Australia. Looking at the various ways in which problem-solving courts have been taken up in these countries, James Nolan finds that while importers often see themselves as adapting the American courts to suit local conditions, they may actually be taking in more aspects of American law and culture than they realize or desire. In the countries that adopt them, problem-solving courts may in fact fundamentally challenge traditional ideas about justice. Based on ethnographic research in all six countries, the book examines these cases of legal borrowing for what they reveal about legal and cultural differences, the inextricable tie between law and culture, the processes of globalization, the unique but contested global role of the United States, and the changing face of law and justice around the world.

BackgroundInterventions to modify school environments are effective in promoting young people’s health across outcomes, but mechanisms are poorly understood. We assessed mediation in a trial of the Learning Together intervention, building on the recent publication of results of effectiveness for reducing bullying and benefits across secondary outcomes and generally good implementation fidelity.MethodsWithin a cluster-randomised trial involving 40 English schools, we examined student-reported and staff-reported school climate and student-reported involvement with delinquent peers at 24-month and 36-month follow-up, assessing the reliability of measures and whether these mediated health outcomes at a final follow-up.ResultsResponse rates and reliability were good for student-reported but not staff-reported measures. The intervention increased student-reported but not staff-reported-positive school climate but, like effects on student health outcomes, these manifested only at a final follow-up. The intervention reduced student-reported contact with delinquent peers at an interim follow-up. Student-reported potential mediators measured at the interim follow-up were associated with most health outcomes at the final follow-up. Adjustment for student-reported school climate and contact with delinquent peers at the interim follow-up did not reduce the associations between trial arm and our health outcomes.ConclusionDespite being constrained by imperfect measures and by the late manifestation of impacts on student-reported school climate undermining ability to assess mediation, our study for the first time provides tentative evidence that mediation of intervention effects via improved climate and disengagement from delinquent peers is plausible. Our study provides the first evidence from a trial that whole-school interventions may work by modifying school environments and student relationships.Trial registration number ISRCTN10751359.

Offering a fresh perspective on the needs of victims, this book explains how restorative justice can be delivered in the prison setting. It is intended to enable prisons and the practitioners who work in and with them to translate the theory into action.

In this paper, we draw on our experience as evaluators of three restorative justice schemes in England and Wales which were funded under the auspices of the Home Office's 'Crime Reduction Programme' to reflect upon the theoretical and empirical potential of restorative justice (in particular, conferencing) to bring about reductions in reoffending on the part of participating offenders. We propose that there is a case to be made for a subtle shift in ways of thinking about the recidivism reduction potential of restorative justice: that is, as an opportunity to facilitate a desire, or consolidate a decision, to desist.

This article examines some recent attempts to introduce elements of restorative justice into the youth justice system. We focus on the introduction of referral orders and youth offender panels and, in particular, consider the issues of community participation and representation. In examining the early experiences of these new ways of working we highlight a series of questions that arise out of the tension between the participatory character of restorative justice and the managerialist nature of much contemporary youth justice in England and Wales.

Responsibility is an increasingly important concept within both political and academic debates about youth justice. As an alternative approach to youth crime, restorative justice ideology has contributed to this debate. Restorative justice emphasizes the importance of repairing harm by encouraging offenders to address past behaviour and to become responsible for future actions. This article reflects on empirical findings from the author's research with 41 young offenders who were the subjects of Referral Orders, a purportedly restorative disposal. It considers how successfully the English youth justice system has adopted this approach, arguing that there is a significant difference between the theory of restorative justice and its use in practice. To some extent, New Labour's emphasis on the criminal justice system has missed the point behind the ideology of restorative justice and the wider opportunities it offers for a proactively restorative society.

An uncompromising appraisal of the unique penal crisis affecting Britain and other Western-style democracies. Escalating resort to prisons, longer sentences, overcrowded and ineffective regimes, high rates of re-offending and eclectic penal policy all combine to fuel this crisis, whilst failing to reduce offending. In this new book, David J Cornwell, author of the acclaimed Criminal Punishment and Restorative Justice (ISBN 9781904380207), argues that the symptoms of this penal malaise are grounded in media sensationalism of crime and the need of politicians and their advisers to retain electoral credibility. Change is long overdue, but it requires a fresh, contemporary penology based on Restorative Justice. The book challenges the status quo, asks 'different questions' and places victims of crime at the centre of the criminal justice process.

Purpose - This paper seeks to argue that there are many failings in current responses to youth crime and antisocial behaviour in England and Wales, which means that the time is ripe for reform.Design methodology approach - This paper summarises the analysis and recommendations of the Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour, which in July 2010 published its report, Time for a Fresh Start, and a book, A New Response to Youth Crime, setting out the evidence on which the report was based. These are considered against a backdrop of failings of the current system and in the context of current cuts in public services.Findings - The present system in England and Wales fails to resolve the tension between punishment and welfare in a coherent way. It is ineffective in preventing crime and reoffending, it targets the disadvantaged and it is incomprehensible to most young offenders. The Commission proposes that in future restorative justice should be the core of the youth justice system.Originality value - The paper argues that a reformed system would exert a stronger influence on young offenders, would be more satisfying to victims and would inspire greater confidence in the general public.