Victim Meetings for Youth Criminals
The BBC is reporting that criminals brought face-to-face with their victims are much less likely to become repeat offenders. Restorative justice system in Northern Ireland offers youth criminals chance to apologize to their victims.
“Some 38% of 10 to 17 year-olds participating in the scheme in Northern Ireland in 2006 re-offended within a year, compared to 71% of those given custodial terms.”
The public engagement of the Restorative Justice System has been widely viewed as a great success in Northern Ireland and has set an example for justice systems in the rest of the world.