Restorative Justice Intro

Restorative JusticeGlasgow

SSU

Hat-tip and resource: www.restorativejustice.org

The Basic Concept

Punishment vs. Restoration◦Repairing harm

Harm-focus vs. Lawbreaking-focus Building community vs. Government-based order

◦Focus on stakeholders and relationships Primary stakeholders

◦Victim◦Offender

Secondary stakeholders◦Friends, family◦Community

◦Major historical example Nuremberg Nazi trials vs. South African Truth and

Reconciliation Commission

Key Values

EncounterMaking amendsCommunity reintegrationTransformation of criminal behaviorStakeholder inclusion in conflict resolution

Some Methods

MediationConferencingRestitutionAssistance (victim, offender)Community Service

Service Learning Opportunity

Agencies: the Sonoma County Coalition for Restorative Justice◦Recourse Mediation Services (

www.recoursemediation.com) ◦Restorative Resources (www.restorativeresources.org)

Your role◦Complete service learning task for Recourse

May or may not fit into allotted SL days, depending on project

◦Written summary of how you completed your task If your task is to produce a document, that replaces the

summary◦Brief oral presentation (roughly 3 minutes)

Group Projects

Five tasks, no more than six students per task

Multiple tasks within each projectDivide work among team

◦Each team member must have a defined task prior to any team member beginning

Divide research sources among team◦Bibliography on Moodle

1. Research the efficacy of restorative justice processes for crimes within the family

 Online and/or library research of the use of

restorative justice in crimes where victims are also family members

2. Research and compare restorative justice versus retributive justice recidivism statistics

 ◦Online and/or library research of recent recidivism data

(past 3 years) in restorative justice programs for juvenile offenders in the U.S., compared to traditional methods in juvenile justice.

 ◦Online and/or library research to identify outcomes

(qualitative and quantitative data) in restorative justice programs for juvenile offenders in other states and other countries.

3. Research studies critical of the efficacy of restorative justice  Online and/or library research to identify the major criticisms

of research into the efficacy of restorative justice (such as studies on crime reduction compared to punishment-oriented approaches; claims of cost effectiveness compared to traditional approaches; outcomes measures studies etc.). Students will identify the criticisms and provide an analysis of the major points.

  Online and/or library research of efficacy of victim-offender

mediation in different populations: gender differences, ethnicity, age, learning disabilities, rural vs. urban populations and/or other demographics deemed relevant in the literature search. There are no date restrictions for this research. Students will document the trends over time in the public perception of the efficacy of restorative justice in the US.

4. Internet and/or library research on the benefits to the community of restorative justice for juveniles

 Research the social-emotional learning benefits of

restorative justice for juveniles and provide a written summary of these benefits. Students will also provide a commentary of their own conclusions.

 Research and analyze data about community

involvement in restorative justice programs in the US and other countries. Students will provide their own suggestions about how to stimulate community interest in restorative justice based on their findings in the literature.

5. Research local public understanding restorative justice

 Phone interviews of local media, businesses,

organizations and individuals using questionnaire provided (RECOURSE will also provide the call list); students will document the responses and provide an analysis of the public understanding of restorative justice. Students will also include a report on what they think the responses suggest as areas of public ignorance about restorative justice that RECOURSE could remedy in the future.

Choosing projects: the magic number is…

1. Why are our liberties important?

2. When is it permissible for the state to coercively limit our liberties?• Drug use

• Wearing seatbelts

• What food you eat

• Counting blades of grass

• Deciding whether to save for retirement

TWO QUESTIONS