Understanding victims and restorative justice (Crime and Justice)

Two of the most influential developments within criminal justice policy in recent years have been the rise of a victim-focused agenda and the emergence of a distinctive set of practices known as 'restorative justice'.Dignan explores the origins of these two sets of developments and offers an analytical framework to map out the relationships between restorative justice and other victim-focused approaches. He analyses different models of restorative approaches, including victim-offender mediation, family group conferencing, police-led conferencing and reparation boards, and looks at how these differ in terms of goals, focus, the way they work, and their impact on victims. In addition, he assesses the strengths and weaknesses of these practices in meeting the needs of victims as part of the overall response to crime.This book is for students from a range of disciplines including criminology, sociology and law, and is of value to professionals, practitioners and policy makers working in voluntary agencies within the criminal justice system.