Rob Allen

Restorative Justice: the way ahead?

Supporters of restorative justice (RJ) sometimes claim its underlying philosophy and practical application represent a wholly distinctive paradigm within which to deal with crime and its consequences. Making an offender face up to the harm they have caused and put matters right through compensation, reparation or work in the community can certainly offer an alternative to retributive punishment — but how realistic is it to expect such an approach to grow over the next few years? A recent report by legal reform group JUSTICE funded by Rethinking Crime and Punishment argues that much more use could and should be made of RJ, provided that the leadership, resources, standards and safeguards are put in place.

Rethinking Crime and Punishment

With the prison population in England and Wales approaching 80,000, the case for effective and widely supported alternatives is greater than ever. Just before Christmas a major new initiative was launched aimed at boosting the confidence of judges, magistrates and the general public in community based penalties for offenders. ‘Rethinking Crime and Punishment Phase Two’ (RCP2) aims to put into practice the recommendations from the largest investigation into crime ever undertaken by a British charity – the four-year grant-making programme set up by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation in 2001 to raise the level of debate about the use of prison in the UK.

What Does the Public Think about Prison

A bsent from the current debate about responding to crime is analysis of what the public thinks about different policy options. This article summarises research on public attitudes undertaken for Rethinking Crime and Punishment, a three year initiative set up by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation to raise the level of debate about prison and other forms of punishment. It suggests that: • People do not rank prison highly as a way of reducing crime. Better parenting, more police on the beat, better discipline in schools and constructive youth activities are preferred options.