Book Review: Juvenile Justice Reform and Restorative Justice: Building Theory and Policy from Practice
| Author | David Mathieson |
| Date | 01 September 2005 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455050505200315 |
| Published date | 01 September 2005 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
08_055148_Reviews (JB-D) 27/7/05 3:29 pm Page 310
310 Probation Journal 52(3)
Juvenile Justice Reform and
Restorative Justice: Building
Theory and Policy from Practice
Gordon Bazemore and Mara Schiff
Willan Publishing, 2005; pp 386; £45.00,
hbk; £25.00, pbk
ISBN 1–84392– 095–6 (hbk);
1–84392–094–8 (pbk)
This new book from Florida Atlantic University seeks to
promote restorative justice, and combines a passionate
belief on the part of the authors with a rigorous analysis of research evidence.
Readers will readily identify with a clever piece of understatement by the authors
in the introduction. Referring to challenges being faced in the USA, they describe
a juvenile justice system ‘whose transformation in the past decade has followed a
direction that must seem less than inviting to restorative justice policy and practice’.
Contrasting the restorative vision with an increasingly adversarial and bureau-
cratic system of justice helpfully and accurately sets the scene. The authors remind
us that restorative justice is not new – and they accept as a general description of
restorative justice ‘every action that is primarily oriented towards doing justice by
repairing the harm that has been caused by a crime’. Wide arrays of restorative
practices have emerged illustrated by a comprehensive table.
There are limitations on the role of criminal and juvenile justice systems in
responding to crime. Communities therefore have an essential part to play because:
. . . young people grow up in communities – not treatment programs (sic). It is
therefore families, extended families, teachers, neighbors (sic), ministers and
others who provide both support and guidance in the socialization process.
Citizen involvement has fundamental implications for justice professionals – a
theme which is developed in several parts of the book.
An essential feature of the authors’ promotion of restorative justice is their focus
on research linking core principles, practice, outcomes and success. How is harm
repaired? How are...
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