NCJ Number
153375
Date Published
1993
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The criminal justice system in Delaware has begun to take steps toward implementing a restorative justice system as an adjunct to the retributive model of justice.
Abstract
In the restorative model, the victim is the paramount concern and the process is geared toward healing the victim, using the offender as the vehicle whenever possible. The restorative justice approach takes the form of community-based programs which generally deal with conflicts prior to any involvement of the criminal justice system, police programs which involve an officer as mediator at the scene of an incident or as referent to another mediation program; court-related programs which operate as alternative means of case disposition; and corrections-based programs which involve mediating disputes between inmates, inmates and guards, or victim impact panels and postconviction victim- offender reconciliation programs. This report outlines the implementation of each of these types of program in Delaware jurisdictions. 2 tables