Does New Zealand use restorative justice?

Does New Zealand use restorative justice?

Now the New Zealand government has enshrined restorative jus- tice processes in legislation for adult offenders. 1 Doing so has made New Zealand the world’s first country to provide in detail for restorative justice processes and principles in the criminal court and at the time of parole release from prison.

Why is restorative justice so strong in New Zealand?

In New Zealand, victims have the right (but no obligation) to attend the mandated FGC and to tell the young offender face-to-face about the personal impact of the crime. Restorative justice works additionally because it gives new voices to victims, to offenders, and to community representatives.

What is restorative justice in New Zealand?

A restorative justice conference is an informal, facilitated meeting between a victim, offender, support people and any other approved people, such as community representatives or interpreters. apologise to your victim. decide how to put right the harm you’ve caused. find ways to make sure you don’t reoffend.

What are the three principles of restorative justice?

Notice three big ideas: (1) repair: crime causes harm and justice requires repairing that harm; (2) encounter: the best way to determine how to do that is to have the parties decide together; and (3) transformation: this can cause fundamental changes in people, relationships and communities.

What crimes use restorative justice?

Restorative justice can potentially be used for any type of crime. It can help victims of low level crime and people who have experienced the most serious offences. There are certain offences which can pose particular challenges for the restorative process, for example sexual offences, hate crime and domestic violence.

What are the steps of restorative justice?

A great way to understand the Restorative Justice Community Group Conference process is to look at it through the lens of the 5 R’s: Relationship, Respect, Responsibility, Repair, and Reintegration (credited to Beverly Title, founder of Resolutionaries).

What are some examples of restorative justice?

5 Examples of Restorative Justice

• Victim assistance. Victim assistance, as the name implies, focuses on the victims and survivors of crime.
• Community service. When someone commits a crime, they are harming the victims and the community as a whole.
• Victim-offender mediation.
• Peacemaking circles.
• Family group conferencing.

What is the restorative justice process?

Restorative justice refers to a process for resolving crime by focusing on redressing the harm done to the victims, holding offenders accountable for their actions and, often also, engaging the community in the resolu- tion of that conflict.

What are the problems with restorative justice?

Restorative justice doesn’t have accountability. Rather than being equated with punishment, in restorative justice, accountability takes the form of self-responsibility and various agreements designed to repair harm and make things right. This form of accountability is not soft.

What are examples of restorative justice?

What are the disadvantages of restorative justice?

Disadvantages

• not available to all offenders, only those who have admitted their crime but victims may reject the offer.
• psychological harm may be brought to the victim especially if the criminal shows no empathy towards them which may result in a lowered self esteem.

Is restorative justice a good idea?

Data supports that restorative justice practices reduce recidivism, increases safety, costs less than traditional justice processes, and creates stronger communities. Victims are providing a voice, empowered and can get a degree of satisfaction from interacting with their offender.

Is there a Restorative Justice Institute in New Zealand?

Kia ora welcome to restorative justice in Aotearoa New Zealand. Resolution Institute and PACT are contracted by the Ministry of Justice to deliver training and accreditation for restorative justice facilitators.

What do you need to know about restorative justice?

Restorative Justice is a community-based response to crime that aims to hold offenders to account for their offending and, as far as possible, repair the harm they’ve done to the victim and the community. Participation in restorative justice is voluntary and involves a facilitated meeting between the victim and offender.

Can a facilitator stop a restorative justice conference?

The facilitator can decide not to go ahead with a conference if they think safety is a concern or they think restorative justice won’t help. The facilitator will tell the court if a restorative justice conference is not going to take place. If this happens you will then be sentenced as soon as possible.