RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN GENERAL
- A 2007 study found 32% of juvenile offenders who do not participate in restorative justice programs re-offend, compared to 20% of juvenile offenders who do participate in restorative interventions (De Beus, Rodriguez, 2007)
- Restorative justice programs have been found to be most effective in reducing recidivism in juvenile offenders who are female, and those who have a minimal number of previous criminal offences (Rodriguez, 2007)
- With regards to type of crime, restorative justice interventions have proven to be best at reducing recividism for juvenile offenders who have specifically committed a status offence or property crime (De Beus, Rodriguez, 2007)
- Victims who participate in restorative justice interventions are significantly more satisfied with the process than victims who participate in the traditional legal system (Latimer, Dowden, Muise, 2005)
- Offenders who complete restorative justice programs are more likely to comply with their sentence/restitution compared to offenders in non-restorative programs (Latimer, Dowden, Muise, 2005)
Victim-Offender Mediation
- Offender Recidivism
- Juvenile offenders who participate in victim-offender mediation (VOM) interventions have been found to demonstrate a much lower probability of re-offending compared to juvenile offenders who do not participate in such interventions
- In a study of 1300 juvenile offenders in the United States, individuals who participated in victim-offender mediation were 32% less likely to recidivate compared to offenders who did not go through VOM (Nugent, Umbreit, Wiinamaki, & Paddock, 2001)
- A meta-analysis conducted in 2006 concluded that VOM interventions caused juvenile offenders to be 34% less likely to re-offend than those who did not take part in such interventions (Bradshaw, Roseborough, Umbreit, 2006)
- Youths who do recidivate after going through VOM commit much less serious crimes than youth who recidivate and have not gone through VOM (Nugent, Umbreit, Wiinamaki, & Paddock, 1999)
- Victim Satisfaction
- Victim-offender mediation has been established to reduce the fear and anxiety a victim experiences following a crime (Umbreit, Coates, & Kalanj, 1994)
- Over 90% of victims who took part in VOM programs in Winnipeg, Manitoba reported feeling satisfied with the process (Umbreit, Coates, & Kalanj, 1994)
- 74% of victims who participated in a mediation intervention felt that they had benefitted from the program (Wemmers & Cyr, 2005)
Circle Sentencing
Currently, there is a severe lack of empirical evaluations which speficially examine the effectiveness of sentencing circles for youth offenders. However, a report published in 2000 found circle sentencing to:
- lower the likelihood of offenders re-offending
- improve the support that both offenders and victims experience
- implement more appropriate sentences for Aboriginal offenders