The process and dynamics of restorative justice: research on forum sentencing

This research report presents findings from a study of Forum Sentencing in NSW. Forum Sentencing is a restorative justice program operating within the local court jurisdiction. It provides an alternative sentencing option, which allows offenders to meet with victims and other community members to repair harm and reduce reoffending. The University of Western Sydney and University of New South Wales were commissioned to complete the research for the Attorney General’s and Justice Department. Previous studies on Forum Sentencing (formally Community Conferencing for Young Adults) have focused on program outputs and outcomes such as participant satisfaction (People and Trimboli 2007) and an evaluation of reoffending (Jones 2009).