Dr Giuseppe Maglione

Project Title: The changing landscape of Scottish criminal justice. Exploring the local provision of Restorative Justice in Scotland

This research project consists of an exploratory study of restorative justice services in Scotland at the level of local authorities. Restorative justice is a process of facilitated dialogue between a crime victim and relevant offender, aiming to enable material and psychological repair of the harm caused by crime. This process has been hailed as one of the most significant developments in criminal justice in the UK over the last 30 years, and evidence suggests it can dramatically reduce reoffending as well as offer closure to victims. In Scotland, the interest around restorative justice has grown substantially following the publication of “Guidance for the Delivery of Restorative Justice in Scotland” in 2017, the first comprehensive Government’s document on this subject. However, in spite of long-lasting interest and recent policy developments, there is a lack of updated and systematic knowledge regarding where and how restorative justice programs are actually delivered in Scotland and by whom. This project aims to address this knowledge gap. Using in-depth qualitative data from semi-structured interviews, it would provide the first ever comprehensive ‘map’ of restorative justice in Scotland, focused on patterns, gaps and best practices, with clear utility for national policy plans on restorative justice as well as filling a gap in academic literature.