Summary

National Associations Active in Criminal Justice (1987). Discussion Paper: A Reflective Analysis on Reconciliation as it Relates to Criminal Justice (A Search for Community-Building Justice). Discussion paper prepared by a working group of the National Associations Active in Criminal Justice (NAACJ) for a workshop on "New Directions in Criminal Justice", May 6-7, Ottawa, Ontario.

The National Associations Active in Criminal Justice (NAACJ) is a coalition of national voluntary organizations in Canada who share an interest in issues related to criminal justice. In 1987 a working group of the NAACJ prepared this document for presentation and discussion at a workshop in May in Ottawa, Canada, on “New Directions in Criminal Justice.â€? Due at least in part to the federal government’s revision of criminal law, it was a time of significant ferment with respect to Canadian criminal justice. The paper explored an alternative approach to the pursuit of justice following a crime. It was tentatively referred to as “reconciliation,â€? and it was seen as an approach that sought to build a stronger community in the wake of crime. This approach was examined in the paper by looking at the crux of the problem, inadequacies in a punitive approach, the nature of reconciliation, the question of justice, and possible ways to move toward a new and better approach to justice.

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