Restorative justice takes its most familiar form in victim-offender mediation and reconciliation programs, often referred to as VORPs or VOMPs. But restorative justice is not just victim-offender mediation. Restorative justice is not any particular program. It is a different paradigm-a different philosophical framework for understanding issues of crime and justice. Other restorative justice responses to crime include family group conferencing, community sentencing circles, neighborhood accountability boards, reparative probation, and restitution and community service programs.
Victims get answers to the often haunting questions that only the offender can answer.
With their questions answered, victims commonly report a new peace of mind, even when the answers to their questions were even worse than they had feared or imagined. It seems to be better than not knowing the answers. Offenders take meaningful responsibility for their actions by mediating a restitution agreement with the victim, to restore the victims' losses, in whatever ways that may be possible. The track record. Offenders seldom experience court-ordered restitution as a moral obligation.