ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5616-4958
Abstract
Restorative justice has gained growing attention within criminal justice reform as a practical alternative to approaches centered only on punishment. It emphasizes accountability, dialogue, and community reintegration, offering a different way to understand how change in behavior takes place. This systematic review examined quantitative evidence from 34 studies, selected from an initial pool of 112 records identified through databases such as Google Scholar, ProQuest, JSTOR, and institutional repositories. The studies assessed a range of interventions, including victim-offender mediation, diversion programs, community conferencing, and in-prison initiatives, which allowed comparison across different settings and populations. Across these studies, 79.4% reported statistically significant reductions in recidivism, with effect sizes generally in the moderate range and pooled odds ratios between 0.68 and 0.74, which indicated consistent advantages over traditional approaches. Patterns within the data showed that youth-focused programs tended to produce the strongest outcomes, with average reductions between 26% and 29%, while results among adult populations appeared more variable and often depended on factors such as early intervention, implementation quality, and the presence of trained facilitators. Taken together, these findings suggest that restorative justice can contribute to measurable reductions in reoffending when implemented with attention to context and program design. At the same time, further longitudinal and cross-national research is needed to clarify long-term effects and to support more consistent and equitable application across justice systems.
Included in
Criminal Law Commons, Criminal Procedure Commons, Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons
