Restorative Justice Conferencing as a ‘Holistic’ Process: Convenor Perspectives
Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: Restorative justice conferencing (‘RJC’) has demonstrated strengths over traditional criminal justice approaches, including victim satisfaction and redress, and offender perceptions of legitimacy and fairness. However, less is known about how and why. This research examines conference convenor perspectives concerning how and why RJC ‘works’ in terms of such outcomes. The convenor perspective is a poorly investigated area in RJC research, despite the pivotal role that convenors play as ‘key’ participants in RJC practice. Based on semi-structured interviews with convenors involved in the Youth Justice Group Conferencing program in Victoria, findings highlight that not only face-to-face dialogue, but also preparation and follow-up, play distinct and important roles in the outcomes of RJC. As preparation and follow-up phases are often dismissed or compromised in practice, this article suggests that RJC should be clearly articulated and implemented as a ‘holistic’ process that requires equal attention to all three phases.
Authors: Masahiro Suzuki, William R Wood
Institution: Griffith University
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2780939137