Restorative Justice is a philosophy for working with crime related problems. The focal point is how an
offense has harmed not only the victim, but relationships between people and within the community as
well. The offender must accept responsibility for causing harm and then has the opportunity to learn how
he/she has personally harmed the victim, himself or herself, and the community. The people most affected
by a particular offense are the key players in determining the means of repairing the harm with the
intention to make things as right as possible.
The potency of this process lies in holding an offender accountable in a very personal manner. Because
of that, both the victim and the offender are able to maintain a sense of dignity and power. In turn,
this can decrease the victim’s fear of re-victimization, lower the rate of recidivism, and in general
restore a sense of harmony to the community.
Restorative Justice benefits the community by promoting community safety and service through
strengthening community connections, giving community members a voice in their justice system, and
repairing the harms caused by crime.
Objectives of Restorative Justice
- Promote the victim’s healing from the effects of the crime.
- Engage with offenders to establish accountability and responsibility for the consequences of their
actions.
- Develop an appreciation of the impact of the offense on the victim.
- Encourage and facilitate the provision of appropriate forms of reparation by offenders to victims
and the community.
- Seek reconciliation between the victim and offender where possible.
- Strive to reintegrate the victim and offender into the community.
Differences between criminal and restorative processes
| Criminal Justice Process |
Restorative Justice Process |
Asks: What laws are broken?
How did it happen?
What do they deserve? |
Asks: Who has been hurt?
What are their needs?
Who is responsible? |
| Crime violates the State and its laws |
Crime violates people and relationships |
| Focus on establishing guilt |
Aims to identify needs and obligations |
| Decides on the punishment |
Gives priority to putting things right |
| The offender is central |
The victim is central |
| Is adversarial – offender versus the State |
Encourages dialogue and mutual agreement |
| Creates winners and losers |
Opportunity for responsibility to be taken, needs met and healing encouraged |
| Governed by rules |
Process is facilitated to meet the needs of the participants |
| Offers limited opportunity to consider wider causes and solutions or inclusion of the general
community |
Offers a forum for the community to be involved in dealing with problems of crime |
Based on a paper presented by Howard Zehr at the 'Making Crime Pay' Conference, Auckland 1994 and
printed in 'Stimulus', New Zealand Journal of Christian Thought and Practice, Vol 2, Issue 3, 1994
