Ruth-Heffelbauer, D. (2006). Restorative Justice FAQ. Victim Offender Mediation Association. Online at http://www.voma.org/rjfaq.shtml
The source composed for the Victim Offender Mediation Association is a fact sheet and statement of purpose for the organization, detailing its efforts to bring about a greater acceptance of this methodology in mainstream legal contexts. Based in the United States, VOMA assembles legal experts and criminal justice advocates who view the benefits of restorative justice as tantamount to better preventing criminal recidivism and promoting a sense of redemption for the victim.
A contribution to the field is VOMA's service as a forum for restorative justice processes. The FAQ here provided would indicate that "Victim Offender Mediation is usually a face-to-face meeting, in the presence of a trained mediator, between the victim of a crime and the person who committed that crime. The practice is also called victim-offender dialogue, victim-offender conferencing, victim-offender reconciliation, or restorative justice dialogue. In some practices, the victim and the offender are joined by family and community members." (Ruth-Heffelbauer, 1) the research used to form this FAQ appears largely to be anecdotal and drawn from the internal records and documentations of the organization.
U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ). (2007). Restorative Justice. National Institute of Justice. Online at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/topics/courts/restorative-justice/welcome.htm
Department of Justice (DoJ) has published its own report on restorative justice. Here, the DoJ defines this, stating it as a counterpart to the traditional criminal justice system and as a remedy to the widespread discontent felt for this system. The concise article contributes a very basic recognition on the part of the U.S. government to the concept, indicating that perhaps such ideals could be more effectively integrated into traditional methods of justice administration.
The research process underscoring this research would be the analytical synthesis of data provided by a set of conferences hosted by the National Institute of Justice. The DoJ placed these symposia across five separate dates between 2007 and 2008.
Works Cited:
Braithwaite, J. (2002). Restorative Justice & Responsive Regulation. Oxford University Press.
Hopkins, B. (2004). Just Schools: A Whole School Approach to Restorative Justice. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Liebmann, M. (2007). Restorative Justice: How it Works. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Ruth-Heffelbauer, D. (2006). Restorative Justice FAQ. Victim Offender Mediation Association. Online at http://www.voma.org/rjfaq.shtml
U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ). (2007). Restorative Justice. National Institute of Justice. Online at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/topics/courts/restorative-justice/welcome.htm
