Rate of recidivism during conditional release and desistance at 3rd degree in Catalonia

Abstract

The Committee of Ministers recognizes the potential advantages of applying restorative justice in criminal justice systems, as it can complement traditional criminal processes or be applied as an alternative to them.

This recommendation considers it necessary to increase the participation of stakeholders, including the victim and the offender, as well as other affected parties and the wider community, to address and repair the harm caused by crime. He considers it important to raise a sense of responsibility among offenders and offer them opportunities to repair the damage caused, which could favor their reintegration, allow forgiveness and mutual understanding, and encourage desistance from committing crimes. It recognizes that restorative justice can raise awareness of the important role that individuals and communities play in preventing and responding to crime and the resulting conflicts, thereby fostering more constructive responses from criminal justice. It recognizes that the provision of restorative justice services requires specific knowledge and codes of practice and qualified training. It also recognizes the growing number of research findings that demonstrate the effectiveness of restorative justice on various indicators, including victim recovery, offender desistance and participant satisfaction. And seeing the potential harm that could be caused to individuals and societies due to excessive criminalization and the excessive use of punitive criminal sanctions, especially in vulnerable or socially marginalized groups, and that restorative justice can be applied to respond to crime, if applicable.

For this reason, the Committee of Ministers recommends that the governments of the Member States take into account the principles established in the Annex to this Recommendation, and make this text available to the relevant national bodies and authorities and, first of all, judges, prosecutors, police, prison services, probation services, youth justice services, victim support services and restorative justice agencies.