Repeat offender numbers in Australia are down as much as 55 percent, thanks to restorative justice proceedings, according to a recent ABC News report. Restorative justice entails mediated sessions between offenders and victims and/or friends and families of victims, to generate empathy and process the trauma of the crime.
“When a real victim of serious crime is in the room, it can have a big effect on re-offending. Now we have results from studies of the highest quality around the world to show that it works,” said Professor John Braithwaite of Australia National University. He was instrumental in introducing restorative justice to the courts in the 1990s and was involved in the groundbreaking restorative justice findings.
In the United States, the restorative justice movement is on the rise. For instance, in San Quentin State Prison, Victim Offender Education Group (VOEG) prepares offenders to meet community members who stand-in as victims of crime. The interactions give offenders the opportunity to address issues surrounding their criminal convictions. This process of self-inquiry occurs through a series of exercises ranging from crime impact statements to childhood trauma.
VOEG participants report these meetings have been powerful. The platform provides room for catharsis and healing, for offenders and victims alike.
“VOEG helped me to connect my childhood traumas to nefarious behavior throughout my life,” said VOEG graduate Cedric Walker, an ex-gang member serving a life sentence for murder.
“The program gave me a platform to address issues and questions I had about abandonment. The victims panel (in which surrogate victims meet offenders to share in a dialogue about their crime/event), had a profound effect on me,” Walker added.
“I was able to understand firsthand the pain the victims felt, and I am now able to empathize with them. Meeting with the surrogate victim, I was able to find remorse and accountability for my actions. I now dedicate most of my life to public service by trying to detour young at-risk children from gang activity and violence.”
The restorative justice approach seems poised to radically change the way offenders process crime, Braithwaite said, “Because crime hurts, justice should heal.”
VOEG offers an opportunity for the victim and the offender to come face-to-face and confront the effects the crime had on both parties. The victims have the opportunity to tell the offenders just how their life has been impacted due to their improprieties. The process also allows the offender an opportunity to make amends by showing remorse for the victims, as well as uncover the issues that may have led to the criminal act/behavior in the first place.
