Reparative and restorative approaches

Introduction: This chapter focuses on the operation and effectiveness of community disposals that aim to enable offenders to make reparation for their offences, including approaches premised upon restorative justice1. The principal focus will be upon community service, mediation and reparation and group conferencing, though other less widely used approaches will also be referred to where appropriate2. Before discussing the rationale for including in a single chapter what might appear at first sight to represent somewhat disparate penal practices, the origins and key features of these approaches are described