Author: lindseycpointer
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What is “Restorative Justice” and How Does it Impact Individuals Involved in Crime?
This is a short piece I wrote for the U.S. Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) blog on restorative justice in the criminal justice context. Fellow restorative justice advocates will know just how difficult (and often fraught) it is to answer the question “What is restorative justice?” This piece captures only a…
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Cases that Should Not Be Referred to Restorative Justice
As restorative justice advocates, we need to shift the conversation about what types of cases are not appropriate for restorative justice. The true risk to the effectiveness, impact, and perceived legitimacy of our work is not in making the process available to survivors of sexual harm or other more severe crimes, but rather in offering…
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The Restorative Justice Ritual: A Virtual Book Launch
On February 2nd, 2021, The National Center on Restorative Justice at Vermont Law School hosted a Virtual Book Launch for The Restorative Justice Ritual. If you were unable to attend, I hope you enjoy this video of the event. During the presentation, I reference a pdf of specific recommendations to help to ensure that the…
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Virtual Book Launch: The Restorative Justice Ritual
I am very excited to share that my second book, The Restorative Justice Ritual, has been published by Routledge! The National Center on Restorative Justice at Vermont Law School will be hosting a Virtual Book Launch on February 2nd from 2-3 pm EST. Register to attend here. I am looking forward to the opportunity to…
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Q&A: Training Restorative Justice Facilitators to Understand Structural Inequities
Q: How can I help the facilitators I train in my program to understand the structural dimensions of crime? I worry that they are too focused on the interpersonal dimensions of crime and are ignoring the larger harms and roots of conflict in race-, class-, and gender-based systemic inequities. A: This is a common issue…
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June Restorative Teaching Tool – An Activity Based on DiAngelo’s book White Fragility
This month’s Restorative Teaching Tool is inspired by Robin DiAngelo’s book White Fragility. In recent weeks, Kathleen and I, like many people, have recommitted ourselves to continued education, deep personal reflection, and action as we intentionally work to be antiracist. It is often uncomfortable and always vulnerable, but we know this is what we need…
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United Nations Roundtable on Restorative Pedagogy
Last month, I was honored to be invited to be part of a roundtable on Restorative Pedagogy hosted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Here is a description of the roundtables from the UNODC press release. “From criminology, psychology and political studies degrees, to university courses for the social workers, lawyers…
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Short Interview on Restorative Justice
Thank you to the Sage and Sassy Sisterhood for asking me to do this short interview on Restorative Justice. You can watch the full interview here:
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As School Contracts with Police are Called into Question, Consider Restorative Justice
We are in a time of immense change in our country and one thing that is being reconsidered is the role of police and punitive sanctions more broadly in schools. Research has shown that the presence of police and punitive sanctions in schools often drives students —particularly minority and poor students—out of school, resulting in…
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Restorotopias – A Conversation with Lindsey Pointer
Brunilda Pali recently posted an interview with me on her site, Restorotopias. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation! Bruna is a role model for me in the restorative practices field, so I was thrilled when she mentioned the idea of an interview. For any RJ practitioners that may be reading, we touch on a few tricky…
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Restorative Circles: A Powerful Tool for Community Healing
Today, The Blue Review at Boise State University published the piece they invited me to write on Restorative Circles. I wrote this article back before the pandemic. More recently, I often wonder how restorative circles can be used to help us heal from the collective trauma of COVID-19. And as I read the tragic…
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Restorative Practices and the Elevation of Women’s Voices
If there is one thing that I think would make a significant positive difference in the trajectory of life on this planet, it is the elevation of marginalized voices including racial minorities, the economically disenfranchised, and women. It is important that these voices are heard not only for the principle of equal voice and the…
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Online Training: Restorative Practices for University Residence Halls
Now Available Online! This course will prepare you to implement restorative practices in your university residence hall.Universities around the world are using restorative practices to foster meaningful relationships, encourage accountability, improve communication, and cultivate feelings of connection and belonging that allow students to thrive. Learning Outcomes: Understand and describe the Restorative Philosophy and how it differs from punitive…
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Restorative Circles: A Student Perspective
This video from San Francisco Unified School District and features students of all ages reflecting on their experience being part of Restorative Circles in the classroom. I love hearing their thoughts! Keen to give restorative circles a try? Start with a relationship building circle! You can find instructions for facilitation a Connection Circle here.
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Q&A Facilitating Circles Online
Question: I want to continue to hold circles with my students/staff during this time of social distancing. I feel we need the connection now more than ever! How can I facilitate a circle through video chat without the ability to actually sit in a circle together or pass a talking piece? Answer: I agree! Cultivating…
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Strengths-Based Restorative Justice Agreements: Using Art to Make Things Right
Restorative justice practitioners place a great deal of emphasis on being strengths-based. This means identifying and supporting an individual’s assets: the positive passions, skills, interests, and connections that make them unique. Taking the time to identify these strengths with participants has many benefits. It helps to combat feelings of stigmatizing shame by showing that you…
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Tips and Tricks for Maintaining Facilitator Neutrality in Pre-Conferences
The pre-conference is, in many ways, the most important part of the restorative justice process. A bad conference, more often than not, is the fault of poor pre-conferencing. Pre-conferencing refers to the individual meetings that the facilitators hold with the responsible party and harmed party and their respective support people prior to bringing the parties…
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www.RestorativeTeachingTools.com
The Little Book of Restorative Teaching Tools was released today and we also launched www.RestorativeTeachingTools.com! This website is a free resource for restorative practices trainers and educators. It has all the great games and activities we weren’t able to fit in the book. You can also sign up on the website to receive a new game…
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Talking Piece Podcast Interview
The Little Book of Restorative Teaching Tools comes out tomorrow! I was honored to be interviewed alongside the brilliant Kathleen McGoey on the Talking Piece podcast. We talk about the book and also design a new game for teaching restorative practices live! You can listen to our interview here: https://soundcloud.com/talkingpiece/episode-9-lindsey-pointer-kathleen-mcgoey
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Restorative Justice and #MeToo
The New York Times recently published an opinion piece titled #MeToo Doesn’t Always Have to Mean Prison. It is an excellent article that highlights the benefits of making a restorative justice response available to those who have experienced sexual harm. As the article notes, “#MeToo rightly emphasizes victims’ healing and accountability for the people who harmed them.…
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Book Launch: The Little Book of Restorative Teaching Tools
My first book, The Little Book of Restorative Teaching Tools, will be released on March 10, 2020. There are a few events coming up, both locally in Colorado and online, to celebrate the launch. If you are interested in learning more about the book, I would love to have you attend one of these events!…
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Talking Piece Podcast Interview: Restorative Practices Training
As a committed podcast fan, I was very excited to be part of the Talking Piece Podcast. Thank you Glenn Millar for a great conversation about Restorative Practices training! https://soundcloud.com/talkingpiece/episode-3-talking-piece-podcast-interview-with-lindsey-pointer
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The Power of Restorative Justice Education
Learning about restorative justice changed my life. I remember vividly the first time I read The Little Book Restorative Justice when it was assigned in a Nonviolence class at Colorado College. I sat up in my dorm room bed underlining almost every line and drawing big stars in the margins. I was so excited to…
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Article on Sustained Restorative Dialogue Published in Contemporary Justice Review
I am very excited to have an article Amy Giles-Mitson and I wrote on the Sustained Restorative Dialogue process published in the Contemporary Justice Review. The Sustained Restorative Dialogue was an effort to apply restorative processes to addressing the broader culture that gives rise to sexual harm. Organizing and facilitating the dialogue was one of…
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What is Restorative Justice?
The exact definition of restorative justice has been a source of great debate and remains contentious within the restorative justice field. Broadly speaking, two general conceptions of restorative justice have been put forth: a process conception and a values conception.[1] The process conception sees restorative justice as, “a process that brings together all stakeholders affected…
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Coming Soon: The Little Book of Restorative Teaching Tools
I remember reading The Little Book of Restorative Justice for the first time. I fell instantly in love with the simple and powerful philosophy of restorative practices and could hardly sleep that night because I was so excited. I just kept thinking, “This is an idea that could change the world in so many beautiful…
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United Nations Course on Restorative Justice
My friend and colleague, Andrea Păroşanu, has recently finished a module on Restorative Justice for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. It is part of a larger series on criminal justice by the E4J initiative. It is a great resource for those looking to learn more about RJ or for materials to help…
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Teaching restorative practices through games: an experiential and relational restorative pedagogy
An article I wrote with Kathleen McGoey on using games to teach restorative practices has been published in the latest issue of the International Journal of Restorative Justice. Finding creative ways to teach restorative practices in a way that is in alignment with restorative values is a passion of mine, so it is a pleasure…
Lindsey Pointer, PhD 