Welcome for Home Office moves towards restorative justice -Jun 23, 2003
Ekklesia has welcomed reports that the Home Office is moving towards the promotion of “restorative justice” schemes in the UK.

Such schemes have significant theological precedent and have previously been pioneered around the world with significant success by Christian groups such as the Mennonites.

The Sunday Times reported that the Home Secretary David Blunkett plans to outline proposals for restorative justice schemes in a consultation paper next month following the success of pilot schemes operated by three English police forces.

The restorative justice approach is voluntary, and is based upon the biblical idea that justice is primarily about making things right, restoring damage that has been done, restitution and reconciliation, before it is about retribution and punishment.

Victim Offender Reconciliation Programmes (VORPs) are one of the primary mechanisms of restorative justice, which the Home Secretary is understood to be considering. The are over 1,000 such Victim-Offender Reconciliation Programs (VORP) operating around the world.

Under such schemes, criminals attend sessions with their victims and an intermediary, often with family members on both sides. Under VORPs offenders take meaningful responsibility for their actions by mediating a restitution agreement with the victim, to restore the victims' losses, in whatever ways that may be possible. Restitution may be monetary or symbolic; it may consist of work for the victim, community service or anything else that creates a sense of justice between the victim and the offender.

The Home Secretary reportedly plans to introduce such a form of restorative justice for crimes such as assault, robbery and burglary.

The VORP system has significantly reduced re-offending rates in countries where it has been introduced and helps victims to achieve “closure” on what are traumatic experiences. Victims have said that they find such systems more satisfying than other justice mechanisms.

For Victim Offender Reconciliation Programmes to work successfully, several important conditions must generally be satisfied including:

(i) The offender must have admitted the offence
(ii) The victim must agree to meet the offender
(iii) There must be a face-to-face encounter between victim and offender
(iv) The emphasis must be upon a) facts b) feelings and c) agreements
(v) Meetings must be facilitated by a trained mediator, preferably from the local community
(vi) There must be a structure but allows participants rather than facilitators to determine outcomes
(vii) Both parties must be able to tell their stories, and ask questions of each other.
(viii) The impact and implications of the experience must be discussed
(ix) Both parties must decide what should be done. If they agree, a written contract is usually the best way forward.
(x) Financial restitution must be possible or offenders must be able to work for the community.


The Impact on Offenders generally involves the following:

(i) Crime is personalised as offenders learn the human consequences of their actions.
(ii) Rationalisations, excuses and justifications for crime are addressed, such as “only the insurance company suffers”
(iii) Offenders are directly accountable to the victims for what they have done
(iv) There is emotional closure to the offence
(v) Offenders have the chance to express remorse and may receive forgiveness


The impact on victims generally involves the following:

(i) Victims have the opportunity to speak their minds and their feelings to the one who most ought to hear them, contributing to the healing process.
(ii) Victims receive the facts, and the opportunity to ask questions that bother them
(iii) Stereotypes of offenders are challenged, and fears about crime reduced
(iv) Victims may receive payment, and have a say in what the payment should be
(v) Victims gain a sense of empowerment


Studies of Victim Offender Reconciliation Programmes around the word suggest that:

(i) About one half of referrals by the courts end in meetings between victim and offender
(ii) Of the meetings almost all end in some sort of agreement.
(iii) 80-90% of agreements are honoured
(iv) 97% of victims in one study said they would do it again and would recommend it to friends
(v) After facing the victims of their crimes, offenders commit fewer and less serious offences than similar offenders who are processed by the traditional juvenile or criminal justice system.
(vi) 80% of both victims and offenders report that they feel justice had been served

Jonathan Bartley Ekklesia's director said; "It is extremely welcome news that the Home Office is taking seriously ideas of restorative justice. Studies from around the world have consistently shown that where schemes are thought through and carefully implemented, restorative justice can significantly reduce re-offending rates, provide greater satisfaction for the victim, reduce fear of crime and ensure that the punishment fits the crime."