Restorative Justice as a Concept Restorative justice (RJ) attempts to bring together and bridge the gaps between the victim, the offender, and an outside representative to discuss the harm of the crime to all levels of the community. The implied goal of the practice is to reach an equitable victim and community centered agreement through deep listening and understanding. Restorative justice in practice manifests as victim-offender mediation, dispute resolution mediation, community panels, restitution, and more. Critics say that while restorative justice does not work through formal, external force it works through careful, persistent encouragement of the instalment of an inner conscience which bids the individual act in accordance with the …show more content…
Often, people falsely equate normalcy in prison and lower sentencing rates with restorative justice.1 2 Contrary to this narrative, Scandinavian countries lag behind the rest of the world in shifting their penal policies to reflect restorative justice principles. Scandinavian restorative justice practices are mainly limited to victim-offender mediation. A cross-cultural criminological examination between Norway and Denmark, however, reveals apparent distinctions in restorative justice basis within Scandinavia. Practicing restorative justice in the Nordic countries can be expected to be more complex than in the previously relatively homogeneous societies, though, with diverging language, behaviors, and preferred conflict resolution styles (Albrecht, 2010, p. 6). It is vital that restorative justice principles are holistically examined before full implementation throughout Norway and Denmark to meet shifting demographics and change a complacent penal …show more content…
Restorative justice as a practice and mediation are one in the same in much of Scandinavia, and Norway is no exception. Mediation, which started in 1981, is recognized as an independent criminal sanction; “a practice of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused or revealed by contested/damaging/criminal behavior” (Hydle, 2011, p. 3). Because it is recognized as an independent criminal sanction, a successful mediation automatically leads to non-prosecution. This simple distinction between Norway and all other Nordic countries, gives restorative justice a field to grow in Norway. Restorative justice embedded in the law grants much more weight to community building through mediation. At the same time, though, the state can much more carefully control the restorative process through the roles that it makes the victim and perpetrator assume when mediation has more legal gravitas. Restorative justice in Norway is seen at the state/local level, or through NGOs. Established Norwegian methods of restorative justice include victim offender mediation, and group conferencing, whereas newer intersectional fields in restorative justice include prisons, gangs, and vulnerable youth (Hydle, 2011). The expansion of restorative justice practices in Norway is promising if implemented with the views of participants and continually recognized under the code of