Has anybody ever been involved with restorative justice?
I know it is starting to get more and more support in school systems, including many Denver high schools and middle schools. Has anyone been involved directly with restorative justice? Did it feel "just"?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by knittermama on -
My experience has been that when this approach is used in criminal proceedings, no, it does not feel "just". Though I think this approach can be useful in certain circumstances and I appreciate the victim having an opportunity to express their views, my opinion is that it often sends a message to offenders that there is no real consequence for their actions.
Just my perspective. Keep in mind my experience has always been at the end of the crime "victim" and that typically the cases have involved habitual behavior on the part of the offender.
Interested in hearing other points of view.
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Permalink Reply by calibeaux on -
I don't understand the school part either? From what I understand it's a way to bring a criminal back into his community but with a "network" of people involved. This may or may not include the victim of the crime. That of course is left up to a victim, and for most of the them, unless children are involved, it's probably best for the victim not to have anymore to do with an offender than absolutely necesary. Are you talking about a child going back into a school?
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Permalink Reply by kt on -
As far as the question of, "is restorative justice 'just' or not", I think it may be important to define justice because so many have the different definitions for that word. Is justice a synonym for punishment? Or something else?
Anne, your comment on disciplining children really interested me because I think we practice something close to the idea of restorative justice at the early childhood development center that I work at. I work at a center that children ages 3 months to 5 years attend. We don't have any punishment at our school. None. What we do is talk and teach communication skills that can be used for solving problems. For example, let's say that in the 4 year old classroom, Sam hits Bobby in the arm because Sam wanted a toy that Bobby was playing with. A teacher would intervene and ask what happened (whether or not the teacher saw it). After a small explanation, ("Sam hit me!" "He had my toy!") the teacher takes the kids to certain spot (I think one classroom uses the term "The Talk About It Table",and the teacher encourages the kids to work out their own problem. More often than not, they solve it themselves and all is merry again. (Of course, with younger children a different approach is made because of language skill, but uses the same idea)
Anyway, the thought behind it is, if the pitcher on your baseball team is throwing lousy fastballs, you don't make that pitcher stop throwing them, you make him/her practice harder. If a student in a classroom is disruptive in group work, you don't make that student sit by the teacher's desk all year because then he/she won't learn how to work in groups. Which is similar to the thought I think, Mrs. Lesley, to stuffing "bad" people in boxes.
I don't know exactly how this works for actual crimes commited in schools, meaning I have no experience with that, but from what I've read it is the same idea. I think it is important to not classify young people as "delinquent" or "trouble makers" because it is a hefty stamp that you're putting on a person who is only beginning to figure out who they are. That kind of label can follow a person into adulthood. (Goes with the theory that you are how you are treated) What's more effective, I think, is to take that "trouble maker" and figure out a way to help that person be more able to function in a way that is respectful to him/herself and to others.
I know that if someone had taken a similar approach with me when I was in school, then maybe I wouldn't have made so many mistakes in my young adulthood.
I was not given the tools I needed to function in society ; ) Maybe restorative justice is an answer to that?
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Permalink Reply by Amber on -
Well, Anne, Stephanie and I once did this Restorative Justice group for theft and shop-lifting. There were a bunch of youth there and we were split into three groups and the youth were there with their parents. It started out with a panel of people who talked. There was a Brighton city Police Officer who spoke, they had one of the youth role-play with a former shop-lifter who is now grown up, and they had a man who had recently been let out of prison talking.
the part of te restorative justice class that impacted me the most was the fresh-out-of-jail man. He was once a shop-lifter. He stole small things and got away with it. Once he realized he could get away with it he started on bigger things. What he went to jail for was credit card theft. People don't realize that it can get to that point. they think "I just stole eye-liner" or something and they think it's small. But when you realize you got away with it, a lot of people will do it again. These kids were caught, and instead of being arrested they were put in this class so that it would be taken off their record. they had to make posters against stealing, write a paper, do volunteer work for a non-profit they liked, etc.
I think it is just because it gives people a second chance. Some people will not learn from a restorative justice class. when I went to the RESTORE thing, there were people that I saw... I KNEW they wouldn't change. Not just from this. A lot of people think it's not just for a lot of reasons. They think that these teens(for my example) shouldn't get the faults taken off their records. they should live with it. there are other reasons, too, I'm just sick and can't think of it. But I think that if you can wake someone up and they can see that what they did was wrong and they can learn from it, find some way to change...why not do it? I think that if there were a restorative justice program at my high school when I went there it might have helped a lot of my friends...friends who are now in bad areas.
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