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Lawyers promote restorative justice & therapeutic jurisprudence
from Lorenn Walker's entry on Restorative Justice and Other Public Health Approaches for Healing:
While a lot of “lawyer dissing” goes on, some of it easily understandable, many lawyers and judges (who are also lawyers) should be recognized for promoting restorative justice and therapeutic jurisprudence.
Strategic use of questions, when facilitating talking circles
from Kris Miner's entry on Restorative Justice and Circles:
When you are keeping a Circle, asking a questions is really important. Setting the tone, role modeling, guiding the process vs facilitating is important. Asking questions that you pass the talking piece around is a develop-worthy skill. I’ve learned by asking double questions, run on questions and questions that didn’t make much sense.
Breaking Florida's school-to-jail pipeline: Alternative approaches to student discipline and punishment
from the article by the Collins Center for Public Policy:
Low graduation rates and a rising incarceration rate in Florida have led to calls for alternatives to the harsh punishments and criminalization of student misbehavior often practiced by school districts. One alternative being practiced by the Escambia County School District offers a non-traditional way in dealing with day-to-day rule violations and disruptive behavior in schools. The Escambia County Alternatives to Zero-tolerance Program engages students, victims, the wider school community and the neighborhood in repairing the harm caused by an offense. Students who break the rules and disrupt the educational process are given a chance to avoid suspension or expulsion by entering the program.
Sep 15, 2010 Policy, School, Region: North America and Caribbean, Country:USA
Parallel Justice for Victims of Crime
by Eric Assur
Not too many years ago Restorative Justice (RJ) was introduced, or artfully expounded on, by Howard Zehr. Now we have what appears to be a similarly unique view of the victim of crime topic through new and different lenses. The author, a seasoned and well credentialed victim advocate, and the National Center for Victims of Crime now offer an enlightening commentary and daunting challenge regarding the state of victim services. The book recommends a new way to do business, a paradigm shift to what is now labeled, Parallel Justice (PJ).
Sep 14, 2010 Book Review, Support, System, Victim, Restitution
Restorative justice is not just saying 'Sorry'
Martin Wright's letter to the editor that didn't get published:
Mark Johnson’s critique gives a chance to correct some common misconceptions about restorative justice (‘Apologising to victims will not reduce reoffending rates’, SocietyGuardian, 18 August). It is not about dragging offenders to see their victims, telling them to say “sorry”, nor making them do menial tasks wearing conspicuous clothing. It does not humiliate offenders (provided it is done properly, of course); they are enabled to show that they can do something useful and be valued for it.
It lets victims explain, and offenders understand, the damaging effects of their actions (and in some cases, such as fights, both have been at fault in some ways). Both are asked questions like ‘What happened?’ ‘Who was affected?’ ‘What do you think and feel about it?’ and ‘What needs to be done to make things better?’ Victims often ask for an apology and/or reparation, but what most of them want is answers to questions and action to make a repeat less likely. This could mean that the offender makes reparation by co-operating with whatever support he or she needs, programmes such as anger management, drug treatment or vocational skills.
Sep 13, 2010 Country:England&Wales, Apology, Offender, Correspondent:Martin Wright, Region: Europe
Restorative justice and victims of terrorism
from the executive summary of Ines Staiger's chapter in Assisting Victims of Terrorism:
In Chapter 7, the potential of restorative justice for victims of terrorism is explored. Starting point for developing a restorative justice strategy in the context of terrorism are restorative justice principles and values. These form the basis of the framework for restorative justice at the micro-, meso- and macro-level. The perception of restorative justice is to understand crime first of all as harm done to people and communities. It implies an inherent concern for victims’ needs and their role in the criminal justice system and encourages offenders to understand the harm and the consequences of their behaviour. A further aim is that the offender accepts his responsibility and tries to repair the harm done to the victim.
....The chapter explores what can be learned from the applicability of restorative justice for cases of terrorism by reflecting on other forms of serious violent crime, including hate crime. For instance, research findings on victim–offender mediation in cases of serious violent crime reveal that the most decisive elements of an encounter between victim and offender are communication, the need for information, and the need to gain some sense of closure. The findings show that most of the victims experienced these meetings as powerful and healing.
Sep 10, 2010 Case:Terrorism
Truth and reconciliation at a price
from the article by Phil Clark on Radio Netherlands Worldwide:
The societal impact of gacaca on post-genocide Rwanda has been highly variable. Gacaca’s volatility results from the enormous number of communities involved, which themselves vary greatly in terms of their experiences of the genocide and the nature of inter-ethnic relations today. Over the last nine years, gacaca has recorded two principal successes and confronted two main challenges.
First, gacaca has proven remarkably successful at expediting the post-genocide justice process, delivering accountability for hundreds of thousands of génocidaires. In the process, it has commuted many convicted perpetrators’ sentences to overcome the problem of overcrowded prisons and facilitated the reintegration of most detainees into everyday society. Thus, the Rwandan government will soon have delivered on its promise of comprehensive prosecutions of those responsible for committing genocide crimes but without recreating the problem of overcrowded jails that necessitated gacaca in the first place....
Sep 10, 2010 Country:Rwanda, Region: Africa, National Reconciliation
Police-referred restorative justice for juveniles in Australia
from the forward to the article by Kelly Richards in Trends and Issues:
This preliminary paper provides an overview of the legislative and policy context of restorative justice measures for juveniles in each Australian state and territory, highlighting the diverse characteristics of current restorative practices. Further, it provides an indication of the numbers and characteristics of juveniles who are referred by police to restorative justice measures and the offence types for which they are most commonly referred.
Sep 09, 2010 Region: Pacific, Country:Australia, Legislation, Government
Towards a Restorative Society: a problem-solving response to harm
by Dobrinka Chankova, South- West University, Bulgaria:
This is not the first pamphlet or book in which Dr Martin Wright - a convinced victims’ advocate and one of the doyens of restorative justice in Europe – critiques contemporary sentencing policies and penitentiary systems. He has extensively published on endemic abuses of closed institutions and the need for immediate reform of the failing criminal justice systems, proposing a new crime policy, based on restorative justice. Lately he has advocated for applying restorative practices in new domains - schools, neighborhood, community, workplaces, etc. and is leading us to a genuine restorative society.
In his latest pamphlet Dr Wright reconsiders the confused logic on which present policies are based; measures that could make a difference and how a restorative approach could transform people’s and society lives. With his inherent objectivity and scientific precision he pays due attention to the objections to and tensions in restorative justice and how its principles could be put into practice throughout society.
“Beyond All Belief” — Restorative Practices at St Edmund’s Primary School, Norfolk, UK
from the article by Lisa Cook posted on iirp.com:
This is what restorative practices looks like at St Edmund’s [for children 3 to 11 years old]:
When the children come in each morning they are quick to sort themselves into a circle. They are keen to get started. The class teacher starts off with a greeting. This is passed around the circle and varies depending on the age of the children.
Sep 07, 2010 School, Country:England&Wales, Story, Region: Europe
