Handbook on Restorative justice programmes

From the perspective of the system
앫 Widening the criminal justice net. This refers to the potential for
restorative justice to bring persons into the criminal justice system
HANDBOOK ON RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAMMES
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Source: Johnson and Van Ness, 2006.

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who would otherwise not be involved in the system. Expanding the
use of restorative processes, a desirable goal, should not be accom-
plished by widening the criminal net and increasing the potential for
unnecessarily stigmatizing certain individuals. Another concern is often
also that the “net widening effect” occurs at the detriment of mem-
bers of minority groups or vulnerable or disenfranchised individuals.
앫 Domination of the process by criminal justice professionals and neu-
tralization of the potential benefits of a restorative justice approach.
앫 Routinization and bureaucratization of restorative processes. This
may result in a loss of the capacity to adapt restorative processes to
the needs of crime victims, the offenders and the community.
앫 The referral of inappropriate cases to a restorative programme.
앫 Insufficient training of persons who play key roles in referring,
assessing, and facilitating restorative justice processes be provided
with proper training.
앫 The absence of due process protections and procedural safeguards.
There are concerns that the informal nature of many restorative jus-
tice processes, including the absence of lawyers and more lax rules
of evidence, may result in the violation of the human and civil rights
of participants. 
앫 Overstating the potential impact of restorative justice programmes.
It is important that, in establishing restorative processes as one com-
ponent of the criminal justice system’s response to criminal offend-
ing, the potential of this approach be assessed realistically, and, more
specifically, that expectations are not raised beyond what available
resources can deliver.
앫 Increasing the supervisory load or overall workload of the conven-
tional justice system. 
앫 Failing to contribute to the rehabilitation of the offender.