Restorative Justice, Crime Victims and Penal Welfarism. Mapping and Contextualising Restorative Justice Policy in Scotland

Maglione, Giuseppe

Abstract

While the criminological literature is abundant in studies on the functioning and effectiveness of restorative justice, there is a lack of engagement with policy on this subject, in spite of the increasing incorporation of restorative justice into policy frameworks. This paper contributes towards addressing this gap by mapping and discussing Scottish policy on restorative justice. The focus is placed on how policy frames restorative justice around certain problems, subjects and objects, reconstructing their underlying assumptions. Additionally, the paper analyses the cultural and political context within which those representations have emerged. From this perspective, it enhances the legibility of the particularly slow and fragmentary development of restorative justice in Scotland, compared to the rest of the UK. More generally, the paper provides an original (and relevant beyond British borders) case study on the interplay between cross-national and local, cultural and political factors in influencing policy change.

Citation

Maglione, G. (2021). Restorative Justice, Crime Victims and Penal Welfarism. Mapping and Contextualising Restorative Justice Policy in Scotland. Social and Legal Studies, 30(5), 745-767. https://doi.org/10.1177/0964663920965669

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 21, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Oct 11, 2020
• Publication Date: 2021-10
• Deposit Date: Sep 24, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 12, 2020
• Journal: Social & Legal Studies
• Print ISSN: 0964-6639
• Electronic ISSN: 1461-7390
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 745-767
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0964663920965669
• Keywords: restorative justice; penal change; penal welfarism; crime victims; policy analysis; Scotland
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2688045