What is Restorative Justice?

Relationship-building

The goal of restorative justice processes is to build understanding, encourage accountability, and provide an opportunity for healing. Crime often causes injury to people and communities; restorative practices seek to repair those injuries by supporting all parties involved in a particular offense to participate in its resolution.

Two different views ​of justice:

CRIMINAL
RESTORATIVE
Crime is a violation of the law and the state.
​Crime is a violation of
​people and relationships.
Violations create guilt.
Violations create obligations.
Justice requires the state to determine blame (guilt) and impose pain (punishment).
Justice involves victims, offenders, and community members in an effort to repair the harm, to "put things right."
Central focus: Offenders getting what they deserve.
Central focus: The victim's needs and the offender's responsibility for repairing them.

Goals of Restorative Justice

  1. ​To hold those who have committed offenses accountable by identifying the harm done, determining what must be done to lessen the impact of that harm, and to create change so these behaviors don’t continue.
  2. To increase communication, improve problem solving, and promote new ways to deal with conflict.
  3. To advance neighborliness and build a strong sense of community.

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