Lesson 4: Programmes Restorative Justice Processes
A number of programs have become associated with restorative justice because of the processes they use to respond to and repair the harm caused by crime:
- victim-offender reconciliation/mediation programs use trained mediators to bring victims and their offenders together in order to discuss the crime, its aftermath, and the steps needed to make things right
- conferencing programmes are similar to victim-offender reconciliation/mediation, but differ in that they involve not only the offender and victim, but also their family members and community representatives
- victim-offender panels bring together groups of unrelated victims and offenders, linked by a common kind of crime but not by the particular crimes that have involved the others
- victim assistance programs provide services to crime victims as they recover from the crime and proceed through the criminal justice process
- prisoner assistance programs provide services to offenders while they are in prison and on their release
- community crime prevention programs reduce crime by addressing its underlying causes
