Restorative Justice is an approach to justice where offenders are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions and "to repair the harm they've done- by apologizing, returning stolen money, or (for example) doing community service". It is based on a theory of justice that focuses on crime and wrong doing as acted against the individual or community rather than the state. In restorative justice processes the justice system has the person who has done harm and the person who has been harmed take an active role. The victim may receive an apology, direct reparation or indirect action to restore or fix the damage. Restorative Justice can involve a fostering of dialog between the offender and the victim show the highest rates of victim satisfaction, true accountability by the offender, and reduced recidivism (repeat offences).
Definition of Restorative Justice:
" Restorative justice is a broad term which encompasses a growing social movement to institutionalize peaceful approaches to harm, problem-solving and violations of legal and human rights. These range from international peacemaking tribunals such as the South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission to innovations within the criminal and juvenile justice systems, schools, social services and communities. Rather than privileging the law, professionals and the state, restorative resolutions engage those who are harmed, wrongdoers and their affected communities in search of solutions that promote repair, reconciliation and the rebuilding of relationships. Restorative justice seeks to build partnerships to reestablish mutual responsibility for constructive responses to wrongdoing within our communities. Restorative approaches seek a balanced approach to the needs of the victim, wrongdoer and community through processes that preserve the safety and dignity of all".
Restorative justice is very different from either the adversarial legal process or that of civil litigation. "Court-annexed ADR (alternative dispute resolution) and restorative justice could not be philosophically further apart" because lawyers seek to reduce issues between offenders and victims to only legally relevant ones and to protect their offending client, whereas restorative justice seeks "expanding the issues beyond those that are legally relevant, especially into underlying relationships."
Citing Greif, Liebmann has written that
Restorative Justice posits a paradigm shift that is best understood by asking the oft-quoted "three questions." The more common three questions for a system of justice to ask are "1. What laws have been broken?, 2. Who did it?, 3. What do they deserve?" Restorative justice asks, "1. Who has been hurt?, 2. What are their needs?, 3. Whose obligations are these?"
History
Restorative approaches to crime date back thousands of years:
- In North America, the first traces of restorative justice have been attributed to the First Nations communities.
- In Israel, the Pentateuch specified restitution for property crimes.
- In Sumer, the Code of Ur-Nammu (c. 2060 BC) required restitution for offenses of violence.
- In Babylon, the Code of Hammurabi (c. 1700 BC) prescribed restitution as a sanction for property offenses.
- In Rome, the Twelve Tables (449 BC) ordered convicted thieves to pay double the value of stolen goods.
- In Ireland, under the Brehon Laws (first recorded in the Old Irish period) compensation was the means of restitution for most crimes.
- In Germany, tribal laws promulgated by King Clovis I (496 AD) called for restitutional sanctions for both violent and nonviolent offenses.
- In England, the Laws of Ethelbert of Kent (c. 600 AD) included detailed restitution schedules.
Retributive justice began to replace this system following the Norman invasion of Britain in 1066 A.D. William the Conqueror's son, Henry I, issued laws detailing offenses against the “king’s peace.” By the end of the 11th century, crime was no longer perceived as injurious to persons, but rather was seen as an offense against the state.
Applications of Restorative Justice
Restorative justice takes many different forms, but all systems have some aspects in common. In criminal cases, victims have an opportunity to express the full impact of the crime upon their lives, to receive answers to any lingering questions about the incident, and to participate in holding the offender accountable for his or her actions. Offenders can tell their story of why the crime occurred and how it has affected their lives. They are given an opportunity to make things right with the victim—to the degree possible—through some form of compensation.
In social justice cases, impoverished people such as foster children are given the opportunity to describe what they hope for their futures and make concrete plans for transitioning out of state custody in a group process with their supporters
In criminal cases, types of compensation include, but are not limited to: money, community service in general, community service specific to the deed, self-education to prevent recidivism, and/or expression of remorse.
In social justice cases, restorative justice is used for problem solving.
Restorative justice sometimes happens in the context of a courtroom, and sometimes within a community or nonprofit organization.
In the courtroom, the process might look like this: For petty or first-time offenses, a case may be referred to restorative justice as a pretrial diversion, with charges being dismissed after fulfillment of the restitution agreement. In more serious cases, restorative justice may be part of a sentence that includes prison time or other punishments
In the community, concerned individuals meet with all affected parties to determine what the experience and impact of the crime were for all. Those called out for offenses listen to others' experiences first, preferably until they are able to reflect and feel what those experiences were for the others. Then they speak to their experience: how it was for them to do what they did. A plan is made for prevention of future occurrences, and for the offender to heal the damage to the injured parties. All agree. Community members hold offender accountable for adherence to the plan.
Most academics and government definitions of restorative justice restrict that definition to those programs that involve an encounter between the offender and the victim. Some grassroots organizations, like the Mennonite Central Committee Canada, define restorative justice programs less on who the clientele of the program is, and more on the programs values. This means that programs that only serve victims (or offenders for that matter), but have a restorative framework, are considered a restorative justice program. Restorative justice pioneer Howard Zehr was honored as the recipient of the 2006 Community of Christ International Peace Award.
Many Libertarians support restorative justice because it is a victim-centric rather than state-centric approach to law enforcement.
Restorative Justice Processes
Victim-Offender Mediation
Victim-offender mediation, or VOM (also called victim-offender dialogue, victim-offender conferencing, victim-offender reconciliation, or restorative justice dialogue), is usually a meeting, in the presence of a trained mediator, between the victim of a crime and the person who committed that crime. This system generally involves a few participants, and often is the only option available to incarcerated offenders. VOM originated in Canada where it formed part of an alternative court sanction in a 1974 Kitchener, Ontario case involving two accused vandals who met face-to-face with their many victims.
Family Group Conferencing
Family group conferencing (FGC) has a much wider circle of participants than VOM. In addition to the primary victim and offender, participants may include people connected to the victim, the offender’s family members, and others connected to the offender (for example, friends, and professionals). FGC is often the most appropriate system for juvenile cases, due to the important role of the family in a juvenile offender’s life. Examples of the use of FGC in a juvenile justice setting can be found in the statutory scheme operating in New South Wales (Australia) under the Young Offenders Act 1997, and in New Zealand under the Children, Young Persons, and their Families Act, 1989. The New South Wales scheme has been favourably evaluated by the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.
Restorative or Community Conferencing
Restorative Conferencing has a much wider circle of participants than VOM. Restorative conferences, which have also been called restorative justice conferences, family group conferences and community accountability conferences, originated as a response to juvenile crime (Doolan, 1999; O'Connell, 1998).
A conference is a structured meeting between offenders, victims and both parties' family and friends, in which they deal with the consequences of the crime and decide how best to repair the harm. Neither a counseling nor a mediation process, conferencing is a victim-sensitive, straightforward problem-solving method that demonstrates how citizens can resolve their own problems when provided with a constructive forum to do so (O’Connell, Wachtel, & Wachtel, 1999).
Conferences provide victims and others with an opportunity to confront the offender, express their feelings, ask questions a
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