Restorative Policing Literature Review

1321 Words6 Pages

Although there are many discernible benefits resulting from the police use of restorative principles, its translation into meaningful policies and programs has to be given thought (Paterson & Clamp, 2012, p. 600). There are a number of conditions established in the literature.
The police form the first and most prominent category to which conditions for the implementation of restorative policing relate. The need for a transformation in the whole police system is often mentioned as a prerequisite (Aertsen, 2009, p. 81; Cooper, 1997, p. 98; Paterson & Clamp, 2012, p. 597; Watson, 2009, p. 224; Young, 2001, pp. 220-222). In fact, Cooper (1997, p. 97) asserts that many police departments currently have the following characteristics: they “adhere …show more content…

81; Cooper, 1997, p. 88; Meyer et al., 2009, p. 340; Paterson & Clamp, 2012, p. 597; Young, 2001, p. 222). This needs to create police thinking beyond the traditional offender-victim dichotomy (Paterson & Clamp, 2012, p. 602). Training should also include other than traditional perceptions of the police role. This means that an emphasis is placed on police discretion and informal resolution (Bazemore & Griffiths, 2003, p. 342; Paterson & Clamp, 2012, p. 602). According to Bazemore and Griffiths (2003, p. 342) the reconfiguration of the policing role should also be enhanced by job descriptions. Additionally, training must touch upon the importance of public confidence in policing and police efficiency (Paterson & Clamp, 2012, p. 602). As established above, public confidence in the police can increase as a result of restorative policing. A clear interaction is thus established. Furthermore, trainers play a role in endorsing policy and systemic reform (Holland, 2007 as in Paterson & Clamp, 2012, p. …show more content…

597). Vanfraechem (2009, p. 57) notes that officers should work with the concept of a multi-directed partiality, which means that he or she needs to consider the point of view of all parties. They should also be able to diagnose a dispute, select the proper response and professionally and scientifically apply mediation (Cooper, 1997, p. 97). Officers should feel kind of converted as a result of a shift in attitude about policing that can been achieved by the training (Bazemore & Griffiths, 2003, p. 342; Vynckier, 2009, p. 33). In addition, Cooper (1997, p. 97) even argues that officers should be recruited by the criterion of their ability to become conflict resolution professionals. However, Watson (2009, p. 225) states that training alone is not enough. A level of support is still