Abstract
While restorative justice programs have been widely adopted in Europe, North America and Australia as an intelligent way to address the impact of crime by juvenile offenders, their use with adult of offenders has been less popular. Despite this, a growing body of research suggests that adult offenders may respond more favourably to restorative justice interventions than juveniles, especially in cases where the offences are more serious. Current scholarship in the sociology and psychology of emotions can help explain this counter-intuitive finding and inform theory and best practice in the growing field of restorative justice for adult offenders. This chapter explores some of the reasons behind the effectiveness of restorative justice and reviews some of the theory and research on emotions that suggests some adults may be more likely to benefit from restorative justice than juveniles. Using a case study involving a restorative justice conference for a serious adult offender, it considers the role of both individual and group level emotions in achieving successful outcomes for participants.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Restorative Justice: Adults and Emerging Practice |
Editors | Jane Bolitho, Jasmine Bruce, Gail Mason |
Place of Publication | Sydney, N.S.W. |
Publisher | Sydney Institute of Criminology |
Pages | 214-230 |
Number of pages | 17 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781742102894 |
Publication status | Published - 2012 |
Keywords
- restorative justice
- justice, administration of