Restorative Justice and the Absent Victim: New Data from the Thames Valley

Abstract

This paper reports research data collected about victims who do not participate in restorative meetings when the opportunity exists for them to do so. The research formed part of a larger study on the use of ‘restorative cautioning’ by the UK's Thames Valley Police. The research employed observation of restorative cautions in which the victim did not attend and interviews with the absent victims themselves. The results show that despite the potential for absent-victims to benefit from the restorative process, poor communication meant that victims often had limited understanding of the process in which they had been asked to participate and what their role could be in that process. In addition, victim-absent cautions tended to be more offender-focussed and less restorative than victim-present cautions. The perception that restorative justice requires victims to meet offenders may be to blame for these failings.