Theory Articles -- Full List

Articles discussing theoretical issues related to restorative justice.

Berzins, Lorraine. "Perspectives on Achieving Satisfying Justice: The Challenge before Us.

Within a Canadian context, the author argues for a new approach to criminal justice that seeks an overall positive, healing purpose, for victims and communities as well as for offenders and their families, instead of the punitive, adversarial philosophy she claims exists.

Besthorn, Fred H and Van Wormer, Katherine. Restorative Justice: An Approach for All Countries- An Introduction

This special issue of Social Policy Times is written as fighting persists in Iraq, and millions have taken to marching for peace across the globe. This special issue is timely because the topic—restorative justice—is about healing and reconciliation, often between warring forces. It is a form of peacemaking that is as old as history. This issue is timely also because last spring the United Nations Commission on Criminal Justice and Crime Prevention passed a resolution that put restorative justice on the international map. The resolution supports the establishment of restorative justice initiatives by the member states. The European Union previously had directed members to provide victim/offender mediation in criminal cases. (excerpt)

Bianchi, H. Justice as Sanctuary: Toward a New System of Crime Control.

Bianchi suggests a non-punitive system of controlling criminality based on principles of conflict resolution. Current criminal law is alienating or anomic; eunomic system emphasizes the active responsibility of involved parties, and redefines conflict away from the criminal and society to the accused and victim or plaintiff. When agreement is reached, public prosecution should be withdrawn. The present system's results in repression; an assensus model permits conflict resolution. Sanctuaries are proposed to replace jails, to facilitate dispute settlement and to protect the public in very violent crimes. The practical feasibility of a eunomic crime control system is discussed.

Bibas, Stephanos and Bierschbach, Richard A. Integrating Remorse and Apology into Criminal Procedure

As Stephanos Bibas and Richard Bierschbach observe, remorse and apology are powerful forces in everyday life. Expressions of remorse and apology are required or ritualized in many spheres of life xe2x80x93 family, religion, and politics, to name but a few. People value remorse and apology because they promote healing of emotional wounds, teach moral lessons, and foster repair of damaged relationships. Bibas and Bierschbach also note how significant these expressions can be in the criminal arena. Victims and victimized communities often experience remorse and apology as essential elements of justice in the aftermath of crime. Yet, the authors point out, remorse and apology play little role in criminal procedure. In the assembly line approach to criminal justice, these expressions figure in at most as indicators that individual defendants are less bad and hence deserving of less deterrence, incapacitation, or retribution. Bibas and Bierschbach characterize this defendant-centered approach to remorse and apology as the xe2x80x9cindividual badness model.xe2x80x9d The authors criticize this approach and argue instead for remorse and apology as fundamental to social interactions and relationships. Referring to this as a multi-actor perspective on remorse and apology, they term it the xe2x80x9crelational approach.xe2x80x9d In this paper then, Bibas and Bierschbach explore remorse and apology as powerful rituals for offenders, victims, and communities xe2x80x93 rituals that should be incorporated into criminal procedure.

Bibas, Stephanos. Restoration but also more justice.

The problem, though, is restorative justice’s megalomaniacal ambition to sweep away the traditional goals and processes of criminal justice instead of merely supplementing them. To restorative justice advocates, retribution for retribution’s sake seems pointless. Their overoptimism about human nature leads them to slight deterrence and incapacitation as at best secondary, at worst needless. Prison seems like a pure waste of human life. But punishment is supposed to hurt. The bite of punishment sends an unequivocal message condemning the wrongdoer and vindicating the victim. It pays the criminal’s debt to society. It teaches criminals and others not to hurt others, humbling proud wrongdoers. Restitution and fines can supplement prison and perhaps reduce the need for it. But because they lack the bite of condemnation and pain, they send too soft a message, overlooking the wrong and trying to hurry by it too fast. Criminals need to atone, to be humbled, to suffer. If they do not, the criminal does not learn a lesson and victims and the public never see justice done, leaving them dissatisfied. True, there are more minor offenses for which prison may not be necessary. Thus, it is no surprise that restorative justice is most prevalent for juvenile crime and minor adult crimes, not violent felonies. Shaming punishments are among the most promising alternatives to prison; they can do what fines and restitution cannot, precisely because they unequivocally blame and inflict pain. And until the public sees serious criminals suffer, it is reluctant to reintegrate and welcome them back. Restorative justice deserves more of a role in American criminal justice. Already, several states have instituted restorative processes for victims and inmates to meet after conviction and sentence. Shorn of its political baggage and reflexive hostility to punishment, restorative justice has much to teach us. But to restore victims and criminals who commit serious crimes, the state must first punish before it and we can forgive. Cheap grace and promiscuous forgiveness demean the crime and the victim. (excerpt)

Blood, Peta. Restorative Practices and Emotional Literacy.

One of the biggest issues teachers face is how to manage the day to day difficulties and disruptions in the classroom or what we commonly refer to as “discipline”. Standard practices of discipline tend to rely on blame, alienation, exclusion and lead to disconnection from the school community. A study byMinnesota University found that students who feel disconnected from their schools are more likely to hurt themselves, hurt others, abuse substances and fall pregnant (2002). At the worst end of the spectrum, the one common denominator in all school massacres (committed by students) was that the perpetrators of this violence had become disconnected from their peers and their school community. Another common theme was that they had been bullied or ridiculed in some way by other members of the school. (excerpt)

Boba, Rachel and Bazemore, Gordon. "Doing Good" to "Make Good": Community Theory for Practice in a Restorative Justice Civic Engagement Reentry Model.

This article discusses the civic engagement model of community service which is grounded in restorative justice principles focusing on both offender and community transformation. n general, offender reentry strategies have failed to consider the community either as a support, or obstacle to reintegration. With this said, a civic engagement model of community service provides an explicit means of engaging the community, while also building and restoring its capacity to allow offenders to take responsibility for their actions, reestablish trust, and build a new public image through service. This article argues for a new civic engagement model of reentry that seeks to engage both the community and offender side of the reintegration equation. The model moves beyond individually focused surveillance and services. Accompanied by a theory-driven evaluation protocol grounded in restorative justice principles and criminological theory at the individual, mid-range, and community level, the model is aimed at maximizing integrity of implementation in a variety of contexts. The civic engagement model features strategically designed civic community service as a primary intervention aimed at: reducing community barriers to the development of positive identities for formerly incarcerated persons; altering the community�s image of such persons; and mobilizing and/or building community capacity to provide informal support and assistance. (Abstract courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.gov).

Boersma, Hans. Atonement, violence and the restoration of hope

In this essay, Hans Boersma, professor at Trinity Western University, examines issues of violence (both outward and inward violence), hope, and the self in modern thought and culture. The outward expressions of violence are manifest in domestic violence, regional military conflicts, and more. There is also an inner violence in modernity. He argues that modernity’s myth of progress and its constant reconstruction of the self are unraveling and failing, thus revealing the inner violence of modernity. Hence, the sense of direction and stability of the self are threatened and undone. Is there a way to break the cycle of violence? Too often, reactions to violence are purely punitive and retributive – stricter legislation and longer prison sentences. At the same time, theological reflection about issues of repentance and forgiveness are on the increase. Amidst all of this, Boersma contends that the retrieval of a narrative of substitutionary atonement can form a theological foundation capable of breaking the cycle of violence, providing healing and restoration, and reigniting hope.

Botchkovar, Ekaterina V. and Tittle, Charles R.. Crime, Shame, and Reintegration in Russia

The article begins with an extensive examination of shaming theory and prior research relating to it. Braithwaite’s shaming theory posits that reintegrative shaming inhibits future misbehavior and that those who participate in the shaming process are less likely to misbehave in the first place. Based on this examination, the authors hypothesize that: 1) participation in shaming is negatively associated with misbehavior; 2) having been reintegratively shamed is negatively associated with misbehavior; and 3) stigmatizing experience is positively associated with future misconduct. Four subsidiary hypotheses were also examined. Data were collected from interviews conducted in July and August 2002 with 224 Russian citizens, of which 70 percent were women. Dependent variables measured were the chance of personally committing one of four specific offenses; independent variables were participating in gossip, being reintegratively shamed, and being disintegratively shamed. Analyses of the data resulted in mixed evidence about shaming theory. The results suggest that contrary to the contention that reintegrative shaming would have a positive effect while disintegrative shaming would have a negative effect, the results provide evidence that shaming of any kind, whether reintegrative or disintegrative, may have negative consequences. The findings also show that participating in gossip is unrelated to future deviance and that guilt or fear of losing respect for others for potential misbehavior do not seem to be related to past shaming experiences nor do they mediate supposed relationships between past shaming experiences and misconduct. These findings, along with previous research, suggest that shaming theory may need further refinement. Study limitations are discussed. Abstract courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.gov.

Botchkovar, Ekaterina V. and Tittle, Charles R.. Delineating the scope of Reintegrative Shaming theory: An explanation of contingencies using Russian data.

Drawing on predictions derived from self-control theory, general strain theory, and deterrence theory, we attempt to improve Braithwaite’s shaming theory by identifying conditions under which its causal process might be more effective in explaining misbehavior. Using data elicited from 224 Russian respondents, we put the elaborated version of shaming theory to the test in its. In line with previous research, study findings indicate that, contrary to the theory’s predictions, being reintegratively shamed is positively associated with projected deviance. While some of the hypothesized contingencies seem to condition the effects of shaming on projected deviance, none of our findings confirm original hypotheses. These results, in conjunction with the accumulated body of research, suggest that reintegrative shaming theory may be in need of further revision. (author's abstract)

Bouman, Martine and van Hoek, Anneke. Communication for social change: the education-entertainment strategy in theory and practice

Worldwide a number of groups have sought ways to incorporate social change messages into radio and television entertainment like popular drama- and soap serials. This so-called entertainment-education (EE) strategy is defined as "... the process of purposively designing and implementing a mediating communication form with the potential of entertaining and educating people, in order to enhance and facilitate different stages of pro-social (behaviour) change." An essential element in this definition is constituted by the words “purposively designing and implementing”. There is a need to develop a wider variety of effective and efficient strategies to bridge the gap between cognitive and affective approaches in communication for social change. More affective and heuristic principles appealing to emotions and human interest need to be integrated in this communication strategy. E-E is a field of scholarly analysis, but its professional practice is strongly linked to the entertainment industry. This ‘marriage’ between communication scholars and television professionals offers a challenge: How can both collaborate in entertainment projects without short-changing the other party? In this workshop, the principal theoretical notions of the EE strategy will be discussed and given a practical perspective through the presentation of an EE-radio-project in Rwanda aimed at the prevention of ethnocentric violence, reconciliation and trauma healing. The workshop will close with a discussion about the question whether the EE-strategy can also be of help in informing the public about restorative justice. (excerpt)

Boyes-Watson, Carolyn. Seeds of Change: Using Peacemaking Circles to Build a Village for Every Child

Roca, Inc., a grassroots human development and community organization, has adopted the peacemaking circle as a tool in its relationship building with youth, communities, and formal systems. Circles are a method of communication derived from aboriginal and native traditions. In Massachusetts, the Department of Social Services and the Department of Youth Services are exploring the application of the circle in programming with youth and families. By providing a consistent structure for open, democratic communication, peacemaking circles enhance the formation of positive relationships in families, communities, and systems. The outcome is a stronger community with greater unity across truly diverse participants. This article presents the theory and practice of peacemaking circles, the lessons and challenges of implementing circles in formal organizations, and the potential of the circle to support a strengths-based and community-based approach to child welfare. Author's abstract.

Braithwaite, John. "Assessing an Immodest Theory and a Pessimistic Theory."

For years this distinguished series has provided scholars and practitioners with timely, cross-disciplinary reviews of research on some of today's most pressing policy issues. Volume 25 includes articles by Jeffery A. Fagan and James Freeman on crime and work; John Braithwaite on restorative justice; Josine Junger-Tas and Ineke Haen Marshall on self-report methodology in crime research; Roger Lane on the history of murder in America; James B. Jacobs and Lauryn P. Gouldin on Cosa Nostra; Brandon C. Welsh and David P. Farrington on monetary costs and benefits of crime prevention programs; and Francis T. Cullen, Bonnie Fisher, and Brandon Applegate on public opinion about crime and the criminal justice system.

Braithwaite, John. Accountability and Responsibility Through Restorative Justice

"Most analysis of democratic accountability is directed at the executive and legislative branches of governance. This essay explores a different path of enriching direct democracy and accountability. This is 'restorative justice.' Restorative justice as an accountability innovation has developed mostly as an experiment in re-democratizing criminal law. While this essay focuses on the criminal justice system as a core arena of research and development of restorative justice innovation, we must understand that restorative justice is a wider strategy of confronting injustice in any arena where injustice occurs. Injustice in the way states fight wars can be confronted by restorative justice strategies such as truth and reconciliation commissions. Injustice in the way children are treated in schools can be confronted by restorative anti-bullying programs. Injustice in the way large private bureaucracies treat us as employees or consumers can be confronted in restorative justice circles or conferences. Unjust treatment by public bureaucracies, such as tax offices, is equally a site of restorative justice research and development." (excerpt)

Braithwaite, John. Rape, Shame and Pride. Address to Stockholm Criminology Symposium, 16 June 2006.

A proposition of the theory of reintegrative shaming is that a reason some societies have lower rates of rape is that rape is unthinkable to most men in those societies. This presentation shows how war interrupts the unthinkableness of rape. Bougainville society seems to have had a low level of rape until its war of the 1980s and 1990s. A single rape was one of the important sparks that lit its civil war. It caused perhaps over 5% of the population to lose their lives and perhaps over a third to be displaced from their homes. As in most wars, rape became common in Bougainville. A theory of why war causes epidemics of rape helps criminologists understand rape better. It can also help international relations scholars to see that the bigger problem caused by armed conflict today may be crime rather than battle deaths. Rape in peace and in war is interpreted according to Eliza Ahmed’s theory of shame management and pride management. Ahmed’s work is seen as an important advance in evidence- based criminological theory. A deficiency of reintegrative shaming theory is that it neglects pride as the flip side of shame as an emotion. Shame displacement may be important to the explanation of rape; yet narcissistic pride may be more important. In war we see more vividly the social dynamics of how shame displacement and narcissistic pride allow both rape and the onset of war itself.Bougainville helps us to ponder how historically sustained, deep and broad restorative justice processes may be part of what is needed to return a society to peace and to low levels of rape.(author's abstract)

Braithwaite, John. Restorative Justice and a Better Future

This essay discusses the principles of restorative justice from the perspective of a case involving a robbery. Through a restorative justice conference, Sam and his victim find the social support they need to repair the damage and find healing. Combining reintegrative shaming crime theory with the principles of restorative justice offers a fundamentally different approach that contains cultural universals, that offers an alternative to retribution and rehabilitation, and can restore harmony based on a feeling that justice has been done. The social movement imbedded in restorative justice will continue to grow because it works for the people most directly involved.

Braithwaite, John. Restorative Justice: Theories and Worries

In this paper I consider a set of theories that increasingly seem to have strong relationships with one another-- theories of reintegrative shaming, procedural justice, unacknowledged shame and defiance-- that offer an explanation of why restorative justice processes might be effective in reducing crime and accomplishing other kinds of restoration. Some of these theoretical claims are sure to be proved untrue by the kind of R & D advocated here. Equally, where these theoretical claims turn out to be true, we will find that the potential of this truth has not been sufficiently built into the design of restorative justice programmes. (excerpt)

Braithwaite, John. The Evolution of Restorative Justice

A new Western wave of restorative justice began with victim-offender mediation programmes in Canada and the United States in the 1970s. Then at the end of the 1980s family group conferences more like the one used in the story of Hiroshi were first developed in New Zealand. Since then there has been a proliferation of new and varied models of restorative justice. My contention is that the defining thing they have in common is that they are a process where all the stakeholders affected by a crime can come together to discuss the consequences of the crime and what can be done to right the wrong. (excerpt)

Braithwaite, John. The essence of responsive regulation.

Regulation that is responsive to the moves regulated actors make, to industry context and to the environment seems a complex task. The argument of this essay is that it is complex in the sense that being a parent regulating children is complex. Yet unsophisticated people can be successful parents by contemplating some simple heuristics of family regulation. This essay seeks to reduce the complexities of responsiveness to nine heuristics that state regulators, businesses, and NGOs can apply in seeking to regulate one another. The ideas of pyramids of supports and of sanctions are at the heart of this project. Partnership with those one intends to regulate is possible in the process of designing regulatory pyramids. The paradox of responsive regulation is that by having a capability to escalate to tough enforcement, most regulation can be about collaborative capacity building. Most of the action can fall within a strengths-based pyramid, a pyramid of supports for business compliance and continuous improvement. Finally, the essay considers how we can know that responsive regulation has worked. (excerpt)

Bryant, Michael and Judah, Eleanor Hannon. Rethinking Criminal Justice: Retribution vs. Restoration

In this introduction to a special journal issue entitled, 'Criminal Justice: Retribution vs. Restoration', the guest editors present reasons to reform the criminal justice system, using restorative justice as a better way, 'an idea whose time has come'.