17.9 Conclusion

While restorative, transformative justice does not address all the issues associated with the legal system, it offers an alternative vision of justice that balances the needs of offenders, victims, and communities. Research with respect to restorative justice has demonstrated positive results in Canada and around the world in terms of reducing recidivism, increasing victim satisfaction, and providing reparation to survivors and communities (Sherman & Strang, 2007; Weatherburn & Macadam, 2013). Furthermore, there is evidence from around the world that demonstrates restorative approaches can be more cost-effective than the legal system (Webber, 2012). Restorative justice alone does not address the complex causes of harmful behaviour; however, transformative justice attends to both the interpersonal aspects of harm as well as the systemic and structural issues. In this way, the justice lens is widened to offer innovative, collaborative, and healing approaches to harm. As the examples in this chapter demonstrate, the benefits of restorative justice are plentiful and awareness of these principles can be integrated across the criminal justice system, from the community, to policing, to courts, and corrections.