Restorative Justice Conferencing (RJC) Using Face-to-Face Meetings of Offenders and Victims: Effects on Offender Recidivism and Victim Satisfaction. A Systematic Review

Abstract

This Campbell systematic review examines the effectiveness of face‐to‐face restorative justice conferences (�RJCs�) on repeat offending and victim satisfaction. The systematic review includes 10 studies.

The average effect of the ten studies indicated that face‐to‐face RJCs resulted in offenders committing significantly less crime than their counterparts randomly assigned to standard criminal justice alone. The effect of RJCs on violent crime is larger than its effects on property crime.

For victims, again comparing those whose cases were assigned to RJCs with those assigned to standard criminal justice, those taking part in face‐to‐face RJCs express higher levels of satisfaction with the handling of their cases, are more likely to receive an apology from offenders and rate these apologies as sincere, be less inclined to want to seek revenge, and suffer less from post traumatic stress symptoms. Show more