1. Restorative Justice For Victims, Offenders and Community
Mark Umbreit, Ph.D., Sheryl Wilson, B.A. Annie Roberts M.Sc.
Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking
University of Minnesota
School of Social Work
January 2006

2. Key Questions: Retributive Justice
What laws were broken?
Who did it?
What punishment do they deserve?
Dr. Howard Zehr
Eastern Mennonite University

3. Key Questions: Restorative Justice
Who has been hurt by this event?
What are their needs?
Whose obligations are they?
Dr. Howard Zehr
Eastern Mennonite University

4. Key Characteristics: Restorative Justice
Victim-centered
Offender-focused
Community-driven
Government as safeguard
Dr. Marlene Young
National Organization for Victim Assistance

5. University of Minnesota
Restorative Justice
“Restorative justice provides opportunities for those most directly affected by a crime (victim,offender, families, and other community members) to be actively involved in the process of addressing harms, needs and obligations. RJ is about offender accountability, victim healing, and community safety, through mediation and dialogue whenever possible.”
Dr. Mark S. Umbreit
University of Minnesota

6. Current Justice System: HOLDING OFFENDERS ACCOUNTABLE
ACCOUNTABILITY MEANS TAKING
YOUR PUNISHMENT
Victim and Offender in passive roles
Focus on deficits
Debt is abstract
Little, if any, victim restitution

7. Restorative Justice System: HOLDING OFFENDERS ACCOUNTABLE
ACCOUNTABILITY MEANS TAKING
RESPONSIBILITY AND TAKING ACTION
TO REPAIR THE HARM TO VICTIM(S)
Victim and offender in active roles
Focus on strengths
Debt is concrete
Victim restitution/restoration is norm

8. Key Elements of Restorative Justice (Howard Zehr 12/98)
Harm-focused
Victim-centered responses
Offender accountably addresses the harm

9. Key Elements of Restorative Justice (Howard Zehr 12/98)
Engagement
Stakeholders involved in the process: victims, community, offender
Dialogue, exchange of information, mutual agreement encouraged

10. RJ Dialogue Processes - Prototypes
Victim Offender Mediation (VOM)
Victim and offender
Multi-party
Restorative Group Conferencing (RGC)
Family Group Conferencing (FGC)
Community Conferencing (CC)
Circles
Peacemaking circles
Talking circles

11. R J Dialogue Processes Restorative Dialogue Models
COMMUNITY POLICING
R J Dialogue Processes
Restorative Dialogue
Models
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PRACTICES AT A GLANCE
PRISONER RE-ENTRY
Adapted from: Mark Seidler,
Clearestory Communcations

12. Engaging & Involving Crime Victims “A Balanced & Restorative Justice System”
Victim Members on Advisory Committees
Victim Members on Special Task Forces
Victim Awareness Staff Training
Victim Awareness Training for Offenders
Victim Panels/Dialogue with Offenders
Victim Offender Dialogue Groups
(in facility and/or in community)

13. (Dr. Mark Umbreit, BARJ Project)
Engaging & Involving Crime Victims “A Balanced & Restorative Justice System”
Victim Offender Mediation & Conferencing
Family Group Conferencing
Peacemaking and Sentencing Circles
Victims as Mentors for Offenders
Victims as Supervisors of Community Service
(Dr. Mark Umbreit, BARJ Project)

14. Where RJ Dialogue fits in CJS
DIVERSION
PREVENTION
PRE-TRIAL OR PRE-
ADJUDICATION
Dialogue
Opportunity
PAROLE & REENTRY
PROBATION
PRISON OR COMMITMENT

15. Evidence-based Best Practices Restorative Justice Dialogue
A Meta-Analysis conducted by the Canadian Department of Justice, 2001
Examined 27 victim offender mediation program evaluations
Examined 8 family group conferencing program evaluations
26 youth studies, 9 adult studies

16. Outcome Measures Examined
Victim Satisfaction
Offender Satisfaction
Restitution Compliance
Recidivism

17. Victim Satisfaction Higher victim satisfaction ratings when
compared to a comparison group
Total of 13 studies, 9 VOM, 4 FGC

18. Offender Satisfaction
Moderate to weak positive impact on offender satisfaction in all but one of the 13 studies when compared to non-restorative approaches
Total of 13 studies, 7 VOM, 6 FGC

19. Restitution Compliance
Substantially higher compliance rates
than offenders exposed to other
arrangements
Total of 8 studies

20. Recidivism
Restorative justice dialogue or conferencing, on average, yield reductions in recidivism when compared to non-restorative approaches
Total of 32 studies, 24 VOM, 8 FGC

21. 32% REDUCTION IN RECIDIVISM
Nugent, Umbreit, Wiinamaki, Paddock Recidivism Study – Meta Analysis 2001
Successful replication of 4 studies
Sample of 1,298 juvenile offenders
VOM = 619, Comparison Group = 679
32% REDUCTION IN RECIDIVISM

22. Participation in Victim Offender Mediation and the Prevalence and Severity of Subsequent Delinquent Behavior: A Meta-Analysis
William Nugent, Mona Williams, Mark Umbreit
University of Tennessee and University of Minnesota
Utah Law Review, December 2003
Total sample of 9,307 juvenile offenders
Sample came from 19 program sites (15 prior studies)
The meta-analysis suggests a 26% reduction in recidivism
For those who recidivated, their future delinquent behavior decreased in severity (statistically significant)
The effect size is 2-3 times greater than 2 prior meta-analyses of juvenile recidivism in non-restorative programs

23. Selected Books The Little Book of RJ (series) – Zehr
Critical Issues in RJ – Zehr and Toews
Peacemaking Circles – Pranis, Stuart & Wedge
The Handbook of VOM – Umbreit
Facing Violence – Umbreit, Vos, Coates, Brown
Changing Lenses – Zehr

24. Videos and Web-site Restorative Justice Videos -- $20 each
1 of 6 in series – total price for all $100
Center for RJ & Peacemaking, U of MN, School of Social Work,
Web-site, Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking, University of Minnesota
Current: ssw.che.umn.edu/rjp
Soon to be changed to: rjp.umn.edu

25. RJ Dialogue – other “systems”
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM (CJS)
FAITH COMMUNITIES
PUBLIC HEALTH - SOCIAL SERVICES
RJ Opportunity
COMMUNITY/
NEIGHBORHOOD
SCHOOLS
WORKPLACE