Author: lindseycpointer
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Restorative Justice and Grit
A common theme in current educational discourse is “grit.” Over the last few years, I have noticed a constant stream of news articles, podcasts, TED Talks, and studies looking at the importance of grit and how we can help students develop it. The idea behind grit is that we need to start encouraging students to…
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Three Minute Thesis
I recently entered the Three Minute Thesis competition at Victoria University. The Three Minute Thesis competition challenges postgraduate students to explain their thesis research to a non-specialist audience in just 3 minutes. The goal is to clearly outline your research, engage the audience, and make them want to learn more. I thought it sounded like…
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Crime Survivors Speak
“A survey of US crime victims’ attitudes towards crime and punishment just came out: among the interesting findings is that, by a margin of three to one, victims of crime believe that prison makes people more likely to commit crimes than to rehabilitate them, and that people should be held accountable through mechanisms other than…
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Ritual and Community Building in the NZ Pop-Up Sauna
During the month of July, I spent a great deal of time at the NZ Pop-Up Sauna on the Wellington waterfront. The first day we arrived in Wellington, my partner, Sam, fell in love with the waterfront area. As he began looking for jobs during our first weeks here, he decided he wanted to create…
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Understanding Transformational Space: An Analysis of Restorative Justice Conferences through Religious Studies Theoretical Lenses
An article I wrote titled “Understanding transformational space: an analysis of restorative justice conferences through religious studies theoretical lenses” has been published in the latest issue of Restorative Justice: An International Journal. You can access a copy of the article here. This link will provide free access for the first 50 people. If the link…
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Connection Circles in the Classroom
This is a great article written by a friend of mine, Eric Rasmussen, who went through Longmont Community Justice Partnership’s Restorative Practices for the Classroom training. He has implemented Connection Circles in his middle school classroom and the results have been amazing! Enjoy! Connection Circles: How to Establish a Restorative Circle Practice by Eric Rasmussen
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How Does Restorative Justice Bring Offenders into Community Instead of Pushing Them Out?
Type of process: Community Group Conference Conference Participants: Offender- Matt Hall Manager- Lauren RAs/Impacted Parties- John, Paul and Isaac 2 Facilitators Disciplinary Measure Pending: Being kicked out of the Residential Hall for drug possession and consumption Referring agent: University Residential Life staff Factual Synopsis: Matt and a friend took LSD and returned to Matt’s residential…
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Invisibilia: “Flip the Script”
This episode of the podcast Invisibilia, “Flip the Script,” is well worth a listen. The first two stories are about the power of responding to violence and hostility with love. The first story is about an attempted robbery at a dinner party and the second story is about how a Danish town helped young, frustrated…
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The “One Stop Shop” Model for Youth Support
Earlier this week, I visited Kapiti Youth Support (KYS) in Paraparaumu, about an hour north of Wellington. Kapiti Youth Support is what New Zealand calls a “One Stop Shop” for youth ages 10-24 in the community. Their services include a medical clinic with doctors and nurses, counselors and psychologists, addiction support, mentoring, family support services,…
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How Effective is Restorative Justice When Followed by a Punitive Sentence?
When I first arrived in Wellington, everyone was discussing a (then un-named) university employee who had stolen almost $500,000 from the university through submitting invoices for a fake company that she had created and then awarded contracts. The company had a fake email address and payment information routed to her personal account. Here is a…
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What Impact Does Restorative Justice Have on University Dorm Community?
Type of Process: Community Group Conference Conference Participants: Offender –Ron Offender Support/Impacted Parties- Ron’s best friend (Shane) and ex-girlfriend (Lizzie) 4 Residential Advisors who were involved in the incident (Lucy, Wes, Toby, and James) 1 Hall Manager (Meg) 2 Facilitators Criminal Charges Pending: None (Note to readers from the United States: the drinking age in…
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Restorative Justice Facilitates Effective Apologies
Research from Ohio State University has recently identified six elements of an effective apology. The elements are: Expression of regret Explanation of what went wrong Acknowledgment of responsibility Declaration of repentance Offer of repair Request for forgiveness Of those six elements, two are particularly important to having your apology accepted. The most important is acknowledgement…
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Restorative Management
Increasingly, restorative practices are being applied in a wide range of sectors, reaching far beyond the criminal justice system and school discipline. The Chair of Restorative Justice at Victoria University is involved in implementing restorative practices in the University residential halls, in workplaces, in elder abuse cases, in the police complaints process, with surgeons as…
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The Restorative Community: Between Individualist and Collectivist Cultural Orientations
While living in China, the difference between Individualist and Collectivist cultures was something I frequently contemplated. I remember a Chinese friend teaching me to play what he described as Chinese poker, a game in which players team up to defeat the randomly selected “rich one.” At the end of the game, either the “rich one”…
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Video: Restorative Justice, Restorative Practices, Restorative Community
You may have heard the terms Restorative Justice, Restorative Practices, and Restorative Community, but what does each term mean and how do they relate to each other? This video endeavors to offer a clear explanation of how Restorative Practices, including Restorative Justice, function together to create a Restorative Community. A Restorative Community can be intentionally…
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Restorative Practices in the Workplace
Recently, the New York Times published an article about a study Google did called “Project Aristotle.” Examining 180 different teams across Google and charting every factor imaginable from team demographics to motivations, the study endeavored figure out what makes a team successful. The outcome of the study showed that the two most important behaviors for…
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How Does Restorative Justice Interact with Homelessness and Mental Illness?
Type of process: Community Group Conference Conference Participants: Offender –Joseph (64) 2 Facilitators 2 Community Members 1 Police Officer (Officer Johnson) Criminal Charges Pending: Fourth degree arson Referring agent: Police Department Factual Synopsis: A 64-year-old homeless man was cooking on a makeshift stove in a trailer he was squatting in and accidentally started a fire, causing…
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Empathy Quote
A friend recently recommended a book called The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison. The opening essay has this quote about empathy that I absolutely love. “Empathy isn’t just remembering to say That must really be hard, it’s figuring out how to bring difficulty into the light so it can be seen at all. Empathy isn’t just…
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What is the Difference Between Guilt and Shame?
Type of process: Community Group Conference Conference Participants: Offender- Elizabeth (16) Offender Support- Elizabeth’s mother (Sarah) Offender- Ann (16) Offender Support- Ann’s father (Joe) and Joe’s girlfriend (Jenna) 2 Facilitators 2 Community Members Kohl’s Loss Prevention Officer Criminal Charges Pending: Theft (misdemeanor) Referring agent: Police Department Factual Synopsis: Two 16-year-olds stole clothing and jewelry from Kohl’s.…
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Restorative Justice Has Something for Everyone
State Representative Pete Lee has successfully passed several bills advancing Restorative Justice in Colorado since he was first elected in 2011. The most recent of these bills was passed unanimously. At the Colorado Restorative Justice Symposium in September, Representative Lee explained how he achieved this astounding bipartisan support. “To the Libertarian Republicans who are skeptical of…
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Can Restorative Justice Overcome a Family Culture of Crime?
Type of process: Community Group Conference Conference Participants: Offender –Karin (17) Offender Support- Karin’s mother (Jackie) 2 Facilitators 2 Community Members Police Officer Criminal Charges Pending: Theft (misdemeanor) Referring agent: Police Department Factual Synopsis: A 17-year-old was with her mother and two younger siblings at Walmart. They filled the shopping cart with $950 of merchandise and…
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How can Restorative Justice Unify Community Resources?
Type of process: Community Group Conference Conference Participants: Offender –Dustin (11) Offender Support- Dustin’s mother Victim- Joy 2 Facilitators 2 Community Members Community Service/Restitution Coordinator Police Officer Criminal Charges Pending: Vandalism, Throwing Missiles (Criminal Mischief) Referring agent: Police Department Factual Synopsis: An eleven-year-old boy ran away from school and damaged a teacher’s car by throwing a…
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Can the Restorative Justice Process Be Modified to Fit Individual Needs?
Type of Process: Community Group Conference Conference Participants: Offender –Tanner (13) Offender Support- Tanner’s mother 2 Facilitators 2 Community Members Police Officer Criminal Charges Pending: Vandalism Referring Agent: Police Department Factual Synopsis: A thirteen-year-old boy with learning disabilities damaged window screens at his school. Narrative: The standard model for restorative justice conferences involves the participants sitting…
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Restorative Justice Video: Inclusion
A local philanthropic organization recently put out a call for video grant submissions that demonstrate in two minutes or less how your nonprofit emphasizes inclusion. Inspired by the style of one of my favorite TED Talks, I wrote a script and designed the accompanying sketches for this short video. Kathleen and I had a hoot filming…
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Of Doubt and Change
By Fellow Officer This piece was written by a police officer about his first experience with restorative justice. He submitted the piece to be shared anonymously with other officers. Restorative justice? Yeah right! Bad guys go to jail. That’s the way it is and should stay. Ask any child how the game of “cops and…
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Is Restorative Justice Effective for Felony Level Crimes?
Type of process: Community Group Conference Conference Participants: Offender –Tyler (26) 3 Victims- Dr. Hay and his wife (Amy), Madeline (the clinic manager) 2 Facilitators (staff) 2 Community Members (2 volunteers) 1 Police Officer (Officer Peters) Criminal Charges Pending: Felony Possession and Forgery Referring agent: Police Department Factual Synopsis: A 26-year-old male working at a medical…
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Can Restorative Justice Help Teach Empathy?
Type of process: Community Group Conference Conference Participants: Offender –Wes (13) Offender Support- Wes’ Parents 2 Facilitators 2 Community Members (1 adult, 1 youth) Police Officer Criminal Charges Pending: Discharging a Weapon Referring agent: Police Department Factual Synopsis: A thirteen-year-old boy fired his BB gun several times from the roof of his house. He shot at…
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Restorative Justice and Ungoogleable Learning
Last week, I had the privilege of leading a three-day training for our Restorative Justice Student Team. I had been working on developing the training for the last few months, so it was extremely gratifying to see it come together and to witness the students’ enthusiasm for learning about restorative practices. On the first day,…
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How does Restorative Justice impact the relationship between victim and offender?
Type of process: Community Group Conference Conference Participants: Offender –Les (36) Victims- Sheryl and Tom (A married couple in their late 60s) 2 Facilitators 2 Community Members Police Officer Criminal Charges Pending: Reckless Endangerment Referring agent: Police Department Factual Synopsis: A thirty-five year old man accidentally discharged his gun in his house. The bullet went through…
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Costs of Confinement
Recently, the Coalition of Juvenile Justice (CJJ) hosted a webinar on the Real Costs of Confinement. There is a lot of conversation about the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of the justice system in relation to reducing rates of recidivism and contributing to community safety. What is more rarely discussed (with precise numbers and impacts) is…
Lindsey Pointer, PhD 