Applying Restitutive Justice to Young Offenders: Observations from the United Kingdom

Abstract

The Dartington Social Research Unit has been studying difficult and disturbed offenders for over 25 years. Our emphasis has been on young offenders and, as such, we are not qualified to comment on adult criminals or the situation of victims of crime. The Unit is largely funded by Government, and we aim to produce studies that help in the development of legislation, policy and practice. During the last 25 years, considerable steps forward have been taken to improve the juvenile justice system in England and Wales. An enormous residential training school system has been dismantled and most offenders are now dealt with at home in the community (Millham, Bullock, & Cherrett, 1975). The use of secure accommodation has diminished markedly and the number of young people in youth custody is also in decline (Millham, Bullock, & Hosie, 1978). In this paper, we seek to apply the messages from our research studies to the questions about the organisation of welfare intervention in the field of restitutive justice. We shall look first at the juvenile justice system as a whole and consider ways in which mediation applies to different groups of young offenders. We shall then look at the special case of extremely difficult and disturbed young people who defy efforts at prevention and for whom mediation alone would be an unsatisfactory approach.