"Punishment is the last and the least effective instrument in the hands of the legislator for the prevention of crime". – John Ruskin. The term restorative justice is a relatively new phenomenon that has many historical roots, it is widely accepted that restorative justice theories were developed in the early 1970s' throughout various states of North America Native American Sentencing Circles, and also within limited areas of Great Britain, South Africa and New Zealand Maori Justice, Marshall. 1999. "Historically, it is argued, the state has stolen the dispute from the hands of the victims and the offenders",...
the restorative justice system. It may also be reasonable to suggest that through such a system and along with the reduction of the fear of crime, the restorative system may also achieve the widely debated subject of "Victim Healing".

A widely recognised advantage to the restorative system will be that of the penal economics.

Using the restorative justice system, the effect on the reduction of caseloads on magistrates and the Crown Courts, could possibly begin to significantly reduce court waiting times, dramatically reduce prisoners on remand and alleviate the swelling numbers of the daily prison population.