Getting to Accountability in Restorative Justice

Abstract

Offender accountability is the primary goal of restorative justice meetings. Yet existing research on restorative justice demonstrates wide variation in how accountability is defined in research and achieved in practice. Empirical research also shows offenders sometimes struggle with providing information or demonstrating culpability, and victims are sometimes not satisfied with offender accounts or view offenders as justifying their behavior. Toward these problems of “getting to accountability,” we set forth a definition that is comprised of three phases–the giving, taking, and making of accountability–primary to how offenders demonstrate and how victims and others perceive accountability in restorative justice meetings. Following this, we discuss implications for research and practice.