North America and Caribbean

Provides articles discussing restorative justice advancements in North America and the Caribbean. Articles appear in the order in which they were added to the site with the most recent appearing first.

• Canada |
• Jamaica |
• United States

Joy in the dirty work of restorative justice

from the entry by John Lash on Juvenile Justice Information Exchange: ....The tension between the study of a topic and the subsequent conversion of ideas into actual work exists in all endeavors, something I have been thinking about as I prepare a training weekend for people interested in learning about restorative justice. There is a purity in theory, a beauty reminiscent of the idealism of Plato and Pythagoras, that is fun to engage. Working in this realm is a kind of game, fun, yet ultimately empty without the willingness to get out in the world and get dirty. In a training environment we seek to balance this tension in a way that honors both aspects of reality. We want to transmit the underlying principles while also showing how things “really” work.

An inventory and examination of restorative justice practices for youth in Illinois

from the report prepared by Kimberly S. Burke for Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority: ....Key findings include: • Respondents reporting using restorative justice practices were found in 54 Illinois counties, and in many different types of organizations who respond to youth misconduct, including police departments, probation and court services, schools, community-based organizations, and other state and municipal departments

Center for Restorative Justice braces for changes to marijuana law

from the article by Keith Whitcomb, Jr. for the Bennington Banner News: With the state likely to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana this summer, the local nonprofit that handles court diversion cases is preparing for the changes.... Cipriano said decriminalization is not legalization, a distinction she fears may be lost on some young people as well as adults. Those caught with less than an ounce of marijuana who are 21 and over will face a civil fine, but for those between the ages of 16 and 20 the penalty is expected to be similar to an underage drinking offense.

Center for Restorative Justice braces for changes to marijuana law

from the article by Keith Whitcomb, Jr. for the Bennington Banner News: With the state likely to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana this summer, the local nonprofit that handles court diversion cases is preparing for the changes.... Cipriano said decriminalization is not legalization, a distinction she fears may be lost on some young people as well as adults. Those caught with less than an ounce of marijuana who are 21 and over will face a civil fine, but for those between the ages of 16 and 20 the penalty is expected to be similar to an underage drinking offense.

Fresno Unified approves restorative justice program

from that article by Linda Mumma for ABC30: After three years of working with the district -- members of the youth advocacy group "Students United to Create A Climate of Engagement, Support and Safety" -- got the outcome they were looking for. Fresno Unified School Board Member Carol Mills said, "This board hereby adopts this resolution to create and implement a school discipline framework of restorative practices."

Fresno Unified approves restorative justice program

from that article by Linda Mumma for ABC30: After three years of working with the district -- members of the youth advocacy group "Students United to Create A Climate of Engagement, Support and Safety" -- got the outcome they were looking for. Fresno Unified School Board Member Carol Mills said, "This board hereby adopts this resolution to create and implement a school discipline framework of restorative practices."

An Outcome Evaluation of Minnesota Circles of Support and Accountability (MnCoSA)

from the study by the Minnesota Department of Corrections: ....The use of the COSA model with high-risk sex offenders began in a small Mennonite community in Canada in the early 1990s. Grounded in the tenets of the restorative justice philosophy, the COSA model attempts to help sex offenders successfully reenter the community and, thus, increase public safety, by providing them with social support as they try to meet their employment, housing, treatment, and other social needs. Each COSA consists of anywhere between four and six community volunteers, one of whom is a primary volunteer, who meet with the offender on a regular basis. The results from several evaluations of the Canadian COSA model suggest it significantly reduces sex offender recidivism....

Judge's experience: Restorative justice works

from the article by David Gottlieb in the Fresno Bee: ....I would not write this commentary or support restorative justice if I did not see the results firsthand. I have written amazing anecdotal stories about the transformation of some of our youth and the communities, but that is not as relevant as the evidence supporting the success of the program. Foremost among the statistics drawn from two years of studies of the program is that recidivism for youth that successfully completed the program is 5%. So, of about 300 teens that have gone through the program, 15 went on in subsequent years to either reoffend or violate the terms of their probation.

Defusing conflict in schools

from the photo essay by Jim Wilson in the New York Times: Mr. Butler passed a “talking stone” to a student during a circle, indicating that the student had the floor.

Restorative justice: Re-storying what happened in Boston

from the entry by Pierre R. Berastain on Huffingtonpost.com: ....We have seen some coverage of restorative practices as an alternative model to responding to conflict, particularly in the criminal justice system and with students who misbehave. In essence, the restorative process invites us to sit in circle, and, as a community affected by crime, determine how to best meet the needs of those involved. Restorative justice rejects one-size-fits-all models and prefers creative processes to conflict resolution.

Detroit students restore peace by talking it out

from the article by Charles Honey for Christianity Today: It all started with Twitter. Weekend tweets and re-tweets among two girls and their friends. She says she wants to fight her, he tweets it to others, word goes around. Come Monday, the threatened girl stays home from school. By Wednesday, four of them sit around a cafeteria table in a charter academy in Detroit, facing each other. Talking, not fighting is the way things are worked out here.

For restorative justice, the devil is in the details

from the column by J. Douglas Allen-Taylor in Oakland Local: ....The ordinance makes provision for existing agencies or non-profits to run the restorative justice component on a case-by-case referral basis, with instructions that the contracted program “may seek to involve the victim as well as the offender” in the restorative justice process. In addition the contracted program both makes the decision as to what will it take to bring restoration as well as to ultimately sign off on whether or not restoration was done. Since that is one of the basic tenets or restorative justice—to bring victim and offender together to restore the whole—it would seem that the programs would almost always bring in the victims, as well as let the victims take the lead in deciding the restorative action.

Youth United: We have a solution - restorative justice

from the entry by Haydi Torres and Blancy Rosales on Women in and beyond the Global: ....When students are suspended, we don’t get a chance to work on whatever it was that made us act out in the first place. And being sent home from school makes us feel like we don’t matter, that our school does not care about or believe in us.

Criminal justice reform: A revolution on the American right

from the essay by Pat Nolan and response by Sadiq Khan for IPPR: ....Conservatives have diagnosed our justice system as being very ill, and they have prescribed new policies to restore its health: Reserve costly prison space for dangerous offenders; Focus on reducing future harm; Fill each inmate’s day with productive activities; Facilitate victim–offender dialogue; Match offenders with mentors; Provide opportunities for community service and reparation; Punish parole violations immediately; Coordinate re-entry supervision and services. Research shows that each of these policies is effective and keeps the public safe. Although these policies embody conservative principles, they enjoy broad bipartisan support across ideological, theological and racial lines....

Widening the circle: Can peacemaking work outside of tribal communities?

from the paper by Robert V. Wolf for the Center for Court Innovation: ....This report was originally written as a guide for participants in the roundtable but raises practical questions for anyone interested in adapting peacemaking to non-tribal settings. After providing an overview of peacemaking, the paper outlines key issues jurisdictions will most likely want to consider during planning and implementation....

Who will pay? Restorative justice in Texas

from the entry by Cyntia Alkon on ADR Prof Blog: I recently learned of a proposed bill that involves restorative justice, which has some interesting pieces to it. This bill, S.B. 1237 , expressly authorizes the state to refer criminal cases to an “alternative dispute resolution system” if one already exists in the county. This can happen “regardless of whether the defendant in the criminal case has been formally charged.” However, “the state must obtain the consent of the victim to the referral.”

Restorative justice essential for First Nations

from the article on CBC News: Nishnawbe Aski Legal Services in Thunder Bay hopes the Honourable Frank Iacobucci's report will lead to more community-based justice programs within First Nations. The former Supreme Court justice said this week that the mainstream legal system is failing Aboriginal people. A Thunder Bay lawyer who works with Nishnawbe Aski Legal Services said a big part of the solution is to help First Nations deal with criminal behaviour in a way that works for them — something called restorative justice. "First Nations people approach conflict and conflict resolution very differently,” said Mary Jean Robinson.

Loudoun's Restorative Justice marks milestone

from the article by Erika Jacobson Moore in Leesburg Today: The Loudoun County Restorative Justice Program is heading into its 16th year of operation and is celebrating its success within the community. As part of the Juvenile Court Diversion Program, Restorative Justice is designed to divert juvenile offenders from court and provides an opportunity for offenders to address the harm that they have done to their victims and to the community while working to avoid stay out of trouble and avoid permanent criminal record.

Corktown restorative justice: Community wholeness

from the website of Restorative Justice Group & Center: The Corktown restorative justice group was initiated following the October 2010 beating of one homeless member of the Corktown community by a resident member. Charges were brought in that case and a trial in that case is anticipated by year’s end. But in the wake of the incident, concerned that this represented a pattern of violence and harassment against street folks, some 40 people gathered to explore alternative forms of community justice. Since that time a number of things have been accomplished: ….9) Guests at Manna Meal developed a Kitchen and Street Code for posting and circulation among themselves.

Restorative justice is the heart of nonviolent change

from the entry by Ken Butigan on ZNet: We’re so trained in the art and science of retribution that it’s sometimes hard to get a fix on what restorative justice is. I got a clue several years ago when my colleague Cynthia Stateman shared the following story. Cynthia was very close to her Uncle John. He was a doctor in their hometown, and when she was growing up she would often make the rounds with him visiting the sick. He was the town’s first African-American physician, and had built a clinic that served sharecroppers and mill workers. One night, years later, Cynthia got a call from a cousin telling her that her uncle had been killed by a young white man intent on robbing his clinic. The assailant had shoved her 75-year-old uncle against a wall. He fell, gasped for breath — and then suddenly died. The would-be robber phoned 911 but then ran for it, only to be quickly captured. Cynthia immediately flew home to be with her family.