The restorative approach in Nova Scotia: A partnership of government, communities and schools

from the article by Mary Shafer and Laura Mirsky on IIRP.org:

....There is now a significant interest across Nova Scotia to bring the restorative approach to schools. Said Pat Gorham, director of crime prevention for the Nova Scotia Department of Justice, “Our provincial government is trying to find out what the capacity might be for RJ in Nova Scotia, identifying frameworks that might be put into place for schools that want to participate. The work has largely been from the community up. All pilot programs are at the local level, with individual school administrators opting to commit to a restorative approach, supported by regional RJ agencies.”

The Tri-County Restorative Justice agency exemplifies this integration; it handles diversion of police-referred youth, and it founded Bringing Restorative Justice into Schools, the first project to develop a program using restorative approaches within schools in Nova Scotia. This program trains students throughout the province as RJ facilitators.

Apr 27, 2011 School, Practice, Policy, Region: North America and Caribbean, Country:Canada, Teacher

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Justice program rooted in community, not courts

from Andrea J. Cook's article in the Rapid City Journal:

When the South Dakota Supreme Court decided that the court system should take a restorative approach to dealing with crime, it expanded the system's approach from one that focused solely on the offender to one that considered consequences for victims, Horner said.

Until victim's rights legislation was on the books, victims were often pushed into the background.

Since [the Center for Restorative Justice's] creation, the main goal has been to keep the center community-based, rooted with the community and not the court system, Horner said.

"We've worked hard to keep it separate but connected to the court system," Horner said.

Apr 14, 2011 Limitations, Support, Practice, Region: North America and Caribbean, Country:USA

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The Salvation Army and restorative justice

from the article in The Dignity Project:

“I will never forget my first brush with injustice” says Matt Delaney. “I was so hurt. I wanted pay back. I wanted to retaliate, to return the favour that I didn’t ask for. I did fight back. Strange though, after I unleashed my vengeance, all I felt was empty and alone. What was wrong with me? Where was the justice I was looking for? Why didn’t I feel justified?

Apr 01, 2011 Conference, School, Practice, Story, Case:Violence, Region: North America and Caribbean, Country:Canada

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