Environmental Crime and Restorative Justice: Justice as Meaningful Involvement

This book explores the use of restorative justice approaches in the context of environmental crimes, arguing that court processes provide minimal to no offender and victim voice and input. It proposes the use of restorative justice conferencing as a vehicle to achieve justice as meaningful involvement.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 266 pages
Publication date: 04 March 2022
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG

This comprehensive book delves into the exploration of restorative justice approaches in the realm of environmental crimes. It conducts a critical evaluation of conventional criminal justice systems in addressing green crimes, while also investigating restorative justice conferencing as a viable alternative. With a focus on justice practices in Australia and New Zealand, the book argues that court processes following environmental offenses fail to adequately provide opportunities for offender and victim voice, interaction, and input, rendering them virtually invisible. It presents a third dimension of justice, surpassing mere fair procedure and outcome, which is meaningful involvement. To operationalize and attain this level of justice, the book advocates for the utilization of restorative justice conferencing, a facilitated dialogue between stakeholders involved in crime or conflict. This book is of utmost interest to scholars, researchers, and practitioners in the fields of green criminology, victimology, and environmental law.

Introduction:
The increasing prevalence of environmental crimes poses significant challenges to criminal justice systems worldwide. Traditional criminal justice approaches often fail to address the ecological and social dimensions of these offenses, resulting in inadequate outcomes and perpetuating harm to both offenders and the environment. In response, there has been a growing interest in exploring restorative justice approaches as an alternative to address environmental crimes.

Traditional Criminal Justice Approaches:
Conventional criminal justice systems typically rely on punitive measures such as imprisonment and fines to address environmental crimes. While these approaches may serve as a deterrent, they often fail to address the underlying causes of these offenses and promote rehabilitation and restoration. Moreover, these systems often lack meaningful involvement of offenders and victims, resulting in a lack of accountability and justice.

Restorative Justice Conferencing:
Restorative justice conferencing is a restorative justice approach that focuses on repairing the harm caused by crime and conflict. It involves a facilitated dialogue between the offender, victim, and other stakeholders, such as community members and representatives of the environment. The goal of restorative justice conferencing is to promote accountability, empathy, and understanding, while also addressing the needs of all parties involved.

Justice as Meaningful Involvement:
The book argues that traditional criminal justice approaches fail to provide justice as meaningful involvement. It suggests that beyond fair procedure and outcome, there is a need for a third dimension of justice that encompasses the voices, interactions, and input of offenders and victims. Restorative justice conferencing provides a platform for achieving this level of justice by promoting a sense of ownership and responsibility for the harm caused.

Case Studies:
The book includes case studies from Australia and New Zealand, which illustrate the use of restorative justice conferencing in addressing environmental crimes. These case studies demonstrate the potential of restorative justice conferencing to promote justice, repair harm, and restore relationships between offenders, victims, and the community.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, this book explores the use of restorative justice approaches in the context of environmental crimes. It critically assesses traditional criminal justice systems with regard to green crimes and explores restorative justice conferencing as an alternative. By promoting meaningful involvement beyond fair procedure and outcome, restorative justice conferencing offers a promising approach to addressing environmental crimes and promoting justice, repair, and restoration. This book is of utmost interest to scholars, researchers, and practitioners in the fields of green criminology, victimology, and environmental law.

Weight: 374g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783030690540
Edition number: 1st ed. 2021