Abstract
In this paper, the researchers draw on research findings of the restorative justice process for adult offenders in Thailand run by probation officers during the pre-investigation stage. The evaluation study was conducted in 2009, aiming to analyze the effect of restorative justice on victims and offenders. The researchers investigate various key aspects, such as rates of satisfaction and perception of fairness, changing attitudes of victims and offenders, response to the victim’s needs, offender’s accountability, and reoffending rate. Factors associated with these aspects were also analyzed. A quasi-experimental research design was applied and the research findings showed that victims and offenders participating in the restorative justice process were significantly more satisfied with almost all evaluated outcomes than those who did not. However, the study did not find any significant difference in the re-offending rate between offenders in the experimental and comparison groups. Finally, the study found that two factors, i.e. victim’s income and victim–offender relationship, significantly related to the victim’s satisfaction. Victims who had low income were more likely to be satisfied with the outcome than those who had high income and victims who previously knew the offender were more likely to be satisfied with the process than those who did not.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Boriboonthana, Y. (2006). The effect of restorative justice practices on crime victims: A meta-analysis. A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Law. The University of Sheffield.
McCold, P., & Wachtel, B. (1998). Restorative policing experiment: the Bethlehem Pennsylvania, Police Family Group Conferencing Project. Pipersville: Community Service Foundation.
Shapland, J., Atkinson, A., Atkinson, H., Chapman, B., Dignan, J., Howes, M., et al. (2007). Restorative Justice: the views of victims and offenders. Ministry of Justice Research Series 3/07.
Sherman, L. W., Strang, H., & Woods, D. J. (2000). Recidivism Patterns in the Canberra Reintegrative Shaming Experiments (RISE) (Final Report). Canberra: Center for Restorative Justice, Australian National University. Also available online at: www.aic.gov.au/rjustice/rise/recidivism/index.html. Accessed on 15 October 2009.
Strang, H. (2002). Repair or revenge: Victims and restorative justice. Oxford: Clarendon.
Umbreit, M. S., Coates, R. B., & Vos, B. (2001). The impact of victim-offender mediation: Two decades of research. Federal Probation, 65(3), 29–33.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Boriboonthana, Y., Sangbuangamlum, S. Effectiveness of the Restorative Justice Process on Crime Victims and Adult Offenders in Thailand. Asian Criminology 8, 277–286 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11417-013-9160-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11417-013-9160-8