1. Restorative Justice: Rebuilding Our Communities One Crime at a Time

2. The three questions of the CJS What law(s) have been broken? Who did it? What do they deserve?

3. Criminal Justice System Crime Violates: – laws and the state Creates: –Guilt Justice is: – the state determines blame and imposes pain Central focus: –offender getting what they “deserve”

4. What is Restorative Justice? When we wrong someone, we have an obligation to acknowledge the wrong/harm and try to make it right.

5. Restorative Justice Questions Who has been hurt? What are their needs? Whose obligations are these?

6. Questions CJS What law(s) have been broken? Who did it? What do they deserve? RJ Who has been hurt? What are their needs? Whose obligations are these?

7. RJ Lenses CJS Crime Violates: People and relationships Creates: Obligations Justice: Stakeholders involved in determining responsibilities and repairing harm Central focus: Victims needs and Offenders responsibilities Crime Violates: laws and the state Creates: Guilt Justice is: the state determines blame and imposes pain Central focus: o ffender getting what they “deserve”

8. #1 TRAUMATIC EVENT(S) ACT(S) OF AGGRESSION #2 Physiological changes: Fight, flight or freeze response hyper-arousal, constriction, dissociation, powerlessness #3 Shock, injury, denial, anxiety, fear: Need for safety #6 Anger “Why me? Why us?” Spiritual questions Need for meaning #5 Suppression of grief and fears: Numbing, isolation Need for re-connection #7 Survivor Guilt, Feelings of shame and humiliation: Need for honor and vindication #8 Learned Helplessness: Need for empowerment #7 Social and cultural pressures. Pride. #6 Decision to pursue own needs, even at the expense of others: egoism of victimization #4 Dehumanization and demonization of the enemy #3 Development of good versus evil narrative #2 Feeling shame/humiliation, hurt pride: increased group identity #5 Justification for using violence. Seeing violence as redemptive Enemy/Aggressor Cycle #1 Victim Identity: seeing self/group as victimized with unmet needs for safety, justice, etc. Fear of harm/annihilation #4 Realization of loss – panic #8 Act of aggression in the name of self- defense, justice and/or restoring honor #9 Re-experiencing events, intrusive thoughts; avoiding reminders; hypervigilence #10 Fantasies of revenge Need for justice and vindication Survivor/Victim Cycle ©Conflict Transformation Program, Eastern Mennonite University, 2002

9. Sticky Message Trauma not Transformed is Transferred

10. What are their Needs? The Victim The Offender The Community

11. Whose Obligations? The Offender The Community The Victim?

12. Implications for Communities Community is made from conflict as much as it is cooperation: the capacity to resolve conflict is what gives social relationships their sinew. - Nils Christie (Conflict is Property) Social Capital Community Mediation, Circles of Support and Accountability

13. Conclusion Restorative justice asks us to reevaluate the way we look at crime/harm and to recognize it as a violation of relationships. It is a reevaluation of the needs and roles of the victim, the offender and the community through dialog, to determine the harm done and what it is going to take to make things right.

14. Sherman and Strang 2007 Substantially reduced repeat offending for most offenders, but not all; Doubled (or more) the offences brought to justice as diversion from CJ; Reduced crime victims’ post-traumatic stress symptoms and related costs; Provided both victims and offenders with more satisfaction with justice than CJ; Reduced crime victims’ desire for violent revenge against their offenders; Reduced the costs of criminal justice, when used as diversion from CJ; Reduced recidivism more than prison (adults) or as well as prison (youths). www.smith-institute.org.uk/pdfs/RJ_full_report.pdf