What Restorative Justice IS:
Restorative justice emphasizes the importance of elevating
the role of crime victims and
community members through more active involvement in
the justice process, holding offenders directly
accountable to the people and communities they have violated,
restoring the emotional and
material losses of victims, and providing a range of
opportunities for dialogue, negotiation, and
problem solving, whenever possible, which can lead to
a greater sense of community safety, social
harmony, and peace for all involved.
Mark Umbreit, U. of Minnesota
The roots of what has come to be called restorative justice
run deep into our history and into the
strengths of diverse cultures from around the world.
As articulated by Howard Zehr (1990), Daniel
Van Ness and Karen Heetderks Strong (1997), Kay Pranis
(1998), and others, restorative justice
requires that we look at crime as causing harm and injury
to the relationships that bind our families,
neighborhoods, and communities together. Van Ness and
Heetderks Strong specifically suggested
that if crime causes injury, justice ought to be about
repairing that harm. Therefore, the process of
justice must become one in which the following things
happen:
• Victims and the community (those
harmed by crime) play a much greater role in response
to crime.
• The resources of the system are focused on determining
who was harmed (vs. what law
was broken), who is responsible for repairing the harm
(vs. placing blame), and what steps
need to be taken to repair the harm (vs. inflicting punishment).
• The strategies of justice are aimed at “re-weaving
the fabric” of the family, community, and
relationships that ultimately form the best crime-prevention
strategy in the first place.
Moeser, J. P.
Our current system is retributive: crime committed against
the state = Punishment imposed by the state. The state
"owns" the crime while the victim's voice and the needs
of the victim go unaddressed.
A restorative justice lens: crime committed against
victim and community = Accountability. Victim-centered
questions: What do you need? What will help you heal?
RJ encourages dialogue to repair the harm.
What Restorative Justice is NOT:
New. Restorative justice programs are operating successfully
throughout the world and are, in the West, rooted in
programs started in Mennonite communities in the early
1970’s. Earlier models of restorative justice can
be found in Native American cultures and across New Zealand.
A “soft on crime” approach. It does not take
away punishment, but it does encourage accountability.
It creates opportunities for offenders to understand
the impact of the crime he/she committed. RJ allows space
for conversation and human connection while respecting
all who are involved.
Forgiveness. Although forgiveness may be a part of some
victims’ paths, a restorative justice approach
does not seek to “sway” victims to forgive
if that is not his/her path.
A replacement for our current system rather it can be
used in conjunction with our criminal justice system.
** Restorative Justice involves numerous practices and
principles which can hardly be fully addressed in a
one
page document. This page is intended to give a very brief
synopsis and is hardly a full picture of what restorative
justice looks like. Here are two helpful websites
that I would strongly encourage you to look at:
http://www.emu.edu/cjp/restorative-justice/
http://www.restorativejustice.org/
Resources, Articles, and Information:
University of Minnesota Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking
http://www.cehd.umn.edu/ssw/rjp/
http://www.cehd.umn.edu/ssw/rjp/PDFs/Opportunities_Pitfalls_Facing_RJ_Movement.pdf
Center for Restorative Justice in South Dakota
http://cfrj.wordpress.com/
Center for Restorative Justice Works
http://www.crjw.us/
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