Restorative Justice On-Line Notebook

• NCJ Number: 242196
• Date Published: January 1998
• Length: 110 pages
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Handbook

Annotation

This Web page from the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, presents information on the concept and principles of restorative justice.

Abstract

This Web page presents information on the concept and principles of restorative justice. The information was delivered at five regional symposia held between June 1997 and January 1998 and conducted by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. The Web page contains links to and a discussion of the fundamental concepts of restorative justice, perspectives on restorative justice, benefits and barriers to consider when implementing restorative justice, implications for organization change within a system, how to change one's local system and convince officials to accept the principles of restorative justice, promising practices in restorative justice, and innovative ways to market the concept of restorative justice to various stakeholders. The guiding principles of restorative justice are: 1) crime is an offense against human relationships; 2) victims and the community are central to justice processes; 3) the first priority of justice processes is to assist victims; 4) the second priority is to restore the community, to the degree possible; 5) the offender has personal responsibility to victims and to the community for crimes committed; 6) stakeholders share responsibilities for restorative justice through partnerships for action; and 7) the offender will develop improved competency and understanding as a result of the restorative justice experience. The primary stakeholders involved in the criminal justice system who would benefit from restorative justice principles include prosecutors, defense attorneys, the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, elected officials, crime victims and service providers, and corrections officials and personnel.