Restorative Justice is more a way of looking at justice than it is a progam
or a set of
practices. Who should decide what justice is in a particular case? Should it
be a prosecutor
who never met the victim or offender? Should it be a judge who only knows
what the prosecutor
and defense attorney decide to tell? Should the victim have anything to say
about it?
Restorative Justice principles say that the victim and offender should have
central roles in
determining what justice is, and that if the victim's needs aren't
addressed, there is no
justice.
Many different practices have grown up around this simple idea, notably
victim offender
dialogue as a way for deciding how to make things right. There is no
perfectly restorative
practice. All we can do is look at our search for justice and ask how it can
be more
restorative. Any method that gives victims a voice is probably more
restorative. Any method
that invites offenders to voluntarily accept responsibility for what they
have done is
probably more
restorative. The search for restorative practices is what brings all the
writings in this
section together.
You will find a very few basic types in these writings, and most writings
about practices
will speak of victim offender dialogue. Where you see actual quantitative
research Mark
Umbreit's name won't be far away. Where you see the beginnings of modern
restorative justice mentioned, Howard Zehr's name will be nearby. Where
"making things right"
or "the peacemaking model" is intoned, Ron Claassen will be noted.
Three basic models of community justice or family group conference have
been tried: Wagga
Wagga (Australia) where a police officer facilitates the meeting, the New
Zealand model where
a social worker leads,
and the Fresno model where a trained community volunteer guides the
process. Your editor
currently leads the Fresno program. Ted Wachtel has marketed the Wagga Wagga
model as
RealJustice and has created a movement under that banner, with research
support provided by
Paul McCold. The New Zealand model, which has the most substantial track
record, has not been
marketed.
Several indigenous peoples groups have recognized their traditional
practices as falling
within the rather large Restorative Justice tent. You will find them in the
Yukon, Arizona
and a few other places.
Restorative Justice is a worldwide movement. When trying to grasp it you
will come across
this Website and several others which, when taken together, are
comprehensive. For a quick
peek at everything see CRInfo.org, euforumrj.org, restorativejustice.org,
voma.org,
restorativejusticeproject.org, and restorativepractices.org. It is a rare
piece of importance
which won't be noted on one of these sites. Association for Conflict
Resolution (acrnet.org)
has a restorative and criminal justice section, and Victim Offender
Mediation Association
(voma.org) is an international membership organization devoted to victim
offender dialogue.
Other regional groups have members and programs.
The field has passed beyond anyone's ability to be completely current. You can watch it develop here.
