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While restorative justice theory consistently describes a process of engaging the victim, the
offender and the community, very little information exists regarding the community
component of this triad. There were data in the literature on the positive effects of restorative
justice for the parents of young offenders and for participating police officers and school
officials. There were also indications that the restorative justice experience facilitated closer
relationships among participants and created a stronger sense of control and safety within
communities. It is clear, nonetheless, that this is a crucial gap in research. Very little is
actually known about the short- and long-term effects of restorative justice programs on
community participants, including their sense of security, perceptions of the criminal justice
system, or fear of crime.
• Roberts (1995) found that victims improved their relationships with friends and family
members following a victim-offender mediation. The study also found that all participants
reported positive changes in their views on crime and victimisation.
• Following the Bethlehem Pennsylvania Police Family Group Conferencing project, police
officers’ attitudes towards crime remained the same, but the officers did report a more
community-oriented and problem solving focus in their work (McCold & Wachtel, 1998).

Cameron and Thorsborne (1998) reported that the majority of conference participants in
an educational setting had closer relationships with other participants after the program.
In addition, the school administrators felt that conferencing reinforced school values,
created positive perceptions of the school among the participants’ families and
transformed their disciplinary practices from a punitive to a more restorative approach.
• Supporters of both victim and offender conference participants reported that the
restorative justice programs created a greater sense of control and security in their
community as well as restored harmony (Chaterjee, 1999).