Restorative justice
Restorative justice provides safe communication between people harmed by crime and those responsible for the harm, to find a positive way forward.
Evidence has shown that restorative justice can help victims to recover whilst offenders are held to account for what they have done.
Restorative justice action plan
Our aim is to have high quality restorative justice services available to all those who wish to access it, at a time appropriate to the people and case involved.
We published a restorative justice action plan in June 2019 outlining the steps needed to help achieve this aim by 2023.
It describes a range of actions including:
- training for restorative justice facilitators
- public awareness and understanding of restorative justice
- information sharing between justice services
The plan was developed in partnership with national agency Community Justice Scotland, and with input from stakeholders across the justice sector.
The actions detailed aim to provide national direction and leadership, whilst encouraging, supporting and promoting a partnership approach involving local and community organisations across Scotland.
Restorative justice guidance for service providers
We have produced guidance on the delivery of restorative justice for service providers.
This is designed to ensure that, where restorative justice processes are available, these are delivered consistently and in a trauma-informed way.