Restorative Alternatives: A Panel Data Analysis of Adult and Juvenile Policy Choices on Violent Crime

Abstract

To date, much of the local, state, and federal policy designed and implemented regarding violent crime has followed principles of retributive justice, with a punitive approach toward offenders. This approach stands in contrast to restorative justice, which emphasizes inclusion of victims’ rights and relationships between offender, victim, and community. To address the effectiveness of these policies, we use state-level panel data to test the impact of one such restorative policy, victim–offender dialogue, on the violent crimes of homicide, assault, and robbery. Using a doubly robust difference-in-difference model, we find little support for victim–offender dialogue policy’s ability to reduce violence. While states that passed this legislation saw an uptick in crime prior to the policy’s enactment, this trend was not mitigated with the introduction of victim–offender policies.