Restorative justice and the prevention of youth reoffending

Abstract

This thesis is made up of three papers. The first is a systematic literature review investigating the effectiveness of restorative justice interventions on reducing the reoffending rate of young people. The review consists of nine studies, the majority of which (N=8) found that there was no significant difference between the impact of restorative justice interventions, and other interventions targeting young offenders, on the rate of reoffending. One study found that restorative justice interventions had a significant positive effect at a three-year follow-up period. Following this, recommendations were made for future research. This included the exploration of the views of restorative justice Case Managers as to what factors are important in enabling restorative justice interventions to prevent young people reoffending.

The second paper is a bridging document which explains how key decisions throughout the process of completing this piece of work were made, and makes explicit the journey from the Systematic Review to the Research Project. This includes the focus of the research, methodology, method and analysis. The bridging document also explores the areas of ontology, epistemology, reflexivity and ethical issues.

The third paper describes a piece of empirical research. In line with recommendations in the Systematic Review, the views of restorative justice Case Managers from a Youth Justice Service were explored regarding the factors that they considered important in delivering a restorative justice intervention that is successful in reducing reoffending. A group interview was used to elicit the views of the Case Managers. Through applying a thematic analysis to the data, six themes emerged; learning, community, enabling change, a holistic approach, professional skill and overcoming systemic barriers. A model is proposed to highlight the relationship between dialogic space and the six themes identified through analysis, in supporting the competence, autonomy and relatedness of young people as conceptualised in self-determination theory. It was concluded that Educational Psychologists have an important role to play in supporting services to develop and deliver interventions with positive outcomes for children and young people. The benefits and limitations of using a group interview are discussed. Implications for the practice of Educational Psychologists, and suggestions for further research, are explored.