The criminal justice system views every crime as a crime committed against the state and places great importance on punishment and repayment to the community, through time, fines or community work. Historically, punishment has been a very public affair, which was once a key aspect of the punishment process, through the use of the stocks, the soaked chair, the pillory and the executioner's rope, although in today's society , punishment has become much more private (Newburn, 2007). However, it has been argued that although the debt to the state has been paid, the victim of the crime has had no legal means to seek adequate retaliation from the perpetrator, perhaps leaving them dissatisfied with the criminal justice process. Are formal institutions of social control such as the criminal justice system and government the best aspect for producing compliant, law-abiding behavior? Hirschi's (1969) social control theory focuses on the effect of formal institutions on individual compliance and, in particular, how law-abiding behavior is produced through these institutions (Walklate, 2005). . However, Wilson (2007) argues that formal methods of social control such as the criminal justice system are simply there to control and separate offenders and offenders who have not benefited from adequate socialization, where social mores are learned and where compliance is produced, and that an alternative form of social control such as restorative justice could produce more effective results. The concept of restorative justice was strongly shaped by the work of John Braithwaite (1989), who in turn drew inspiration from indigenous practices in New Zealand and Australia, whereby the importance of family value. . middle of paper ...... abilities to manage this, which is not so much the case these days as Tony Marshall (1999) argues. There are criticisms regarding the procedures, the loss of rights such as an independent and impartial forum as well as the principle of proportionality in sentencing. There is also an unrealistic expectation that restorative justice can produce major changes in deviant behavior because there is insufficient evidence to support this claim (Cunneen, 2007). Levrant et al (1999), on the other hand, suggest that restorative justice is not yet proven to be effective in stopping recidivism and argue that its appeal lies in its apparent morality and rather humanistic sentiments. only in its empirical effectiveness. He continues to argue that it makes people feel better about themselves through a moral high ground rather than focusing on justice towards the offender..