Tag: Restorative Justice
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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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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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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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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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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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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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A Conversation with Public Safety Chief (Chief of Police) Mike Butler
Q: Why did you decide to integrate restorative justice into the Police Department? A: Having worked in the criminal justice system for as long as I have and seeing the results over a period of time and its effectiveness or lack thereof and believing there are other forces out there that could be brought to…
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How is the Outcome of Restorative Justice Different from the Traditional Court System?
Type of process: Community Group Conference Conference Participants: Offender –Maddie (14) Offender Support- Maddie’s mother 2 Facilitators 2 Community Members 2 Animal Control Police Officers Criminal Charges Pending: Animal Abuse Referring agent: Police Department Factual Synopsis: Two fourteen-year-old girls took a pet chinchilla to the park and filmed themselves making it “swim” in the creek. Maddie’s…
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Is Restorative Justice Effective for Adult Offenders?
Type of process: Community Group Conference (CGC) Conference Participants: Offender – Joel (24) Offender Support- Lila Victim –Violet (grandmother) Victim – Sally (granddaughter) 2 Facilitators 2 Community Members Police Officer Criminal Charges Pending: Harassment Referring agent: Police Department Factual Synopsis: A young man mistakenly called a grandmother and granddaughter thinking he was calling another driver he…
Lindsey Pointer, PhD 