Your World of Legal Intelligence
 United Kingdom | +44 (0) 20 7284 8080

Book Review: Making a Difference: Practice and Planning in Working with Young People in Community Safety and Crime Prevention Programmes

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
AuthorSimon Perry
DOI10.1177/147322540400400109
Published date01 April 2004
Date01 April 2004
Subject MatterArticles
Yojulay Youth Justice Vol. 4 No. 1
65
at different stages of the youth and adult criminal justice systems in the UK. The
editors add ‘reflections’ drawing out some of the implications at the end of each case,
and these build up into a useful set of good practice ‘tips’ related to the principles
introduced at the beginning.
Refreshingly, not all the cases relate tales of unqualified success: one of the faults of
some previous literature on restorative justice was that it tended to skate over failures
and shortcomings. A number of the case descriptions demonstrate the serious
consequences for victims of what, on the face of it, were relatively minor offences.
However, one or two ‘heart-warming’ stories which omit reflection on the discomfort
as well as the personal growth sometimes involved in being shamed for offending do
slip through. The editors can hardly be blamed for this, since the contributors
inevitably display a range of philosophical approaches to restorative justice.
The cumulative effects of reading the forty cases included an increased awareness
on the part of this reader of the complexity (and resource-intensiveness) of many cases
involving restorative approaches, and of its feasibility and appropriateness in some
quite serious cases, including sexual offences, if the parties are appropriately prepared
and give genuinely informed consent to becoming involved in restorative processes.
One or two cases also conclude with convincing claims about precisely what it is that
RJ can do that ‘conventional’ criminal justice usually cannot.
Some of the lessons for good practice will not make comfortable reading for those
in government who see RJ as a way of reducing the demands upon the criminal justice
system (or even as a way of saving money). The long delays – and personal distress –
caused by different professionals’ interpretation of data protection, and the
consequences of the unrealistic timetables set by national standards (including the
Youth Justice Board) in certain cases ought to lead...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT