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22.09.2020 06:11 •  Английский язык

Очень

Over the past 5 years, government reforms have improved the legal system of the United Kingdom. Restorative justice is an official initiative, which has been supported and encouraged to reduce crime and benefit victims. The recently formed Youth Justice Board aims to promote the prevention of offences by children and young people.
The board has called upon youth courts to reduce the number of short custodial sentences and, conscious of the need for an alternative to imprisonment for young offenders, a conference was convened on the topic.
Lord Chief justice Woolf, the main speaker, indicated that there is an alternative to imprisonment for young people. It is the process of restorative justice, which involves the victims of crime, the community, which may be affected, and offenders.
He pointed out frustration experienced sometimes by victims. They often believe that the effect of criminal behavior on them personally has not been taken into account.
Lord Wolf observed, “We have to find ways of breaking the vicious cycle of repetition of offending, punishment, release, reoffending and punishment again. Restorative justice cannot be the sole answer to this problem but can assist”.
With restorative justice an offender is encouraged to acknowledge the wrong which those who suffer from his or her criminal behavior have endured. A victim, ideally, is involved in the process but always voluntarily. Above all, the offender is encouraged to realize that someone, a real person, has been affected by the crime.
Restorative justice conference is a way of attempting to achieve this end. It includes where possible the families of both victim and offender to deal with the aftermath of the offence. Ideally, an offender is given an opportunity to become a member of law-abiding society and repay a moral debt to victims. Offenders can find it demanding when meeting face to face with their victims.