New Directions in Restorative Justice

Chapter 8

A tale of two studies: restorative justice from a victim's perspective

Kathleen Daly

Abstract¹

This chapter reviews two studies on restorative justice conducted in the past several years. One examines variability in the conference process and the second compares outcomes for court and conference cases. The studies show the strengths and weaknesses of restorative justice from a victim's perspective. The conference-only study demonstrates the limits of restorative justice in helping victims to recover from crime, and it suggests that some victims are more able to engage in a restorative justice process than others. The conference-court comparison demonstrates the limits of the court in attempting to adjudicate and sanction crime, and ...