Community Policing, Community Justice, and Restorative Justice

• NCJ Number: 194044
• Author(s): Caroline G. Nicholl
• Date Published: September 1999
• Length: 206 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: US Department of Justice
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services; US Department of Justice
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report explains how the principles of restorative justice and community policing complement one another to promote a shared responsibility between the police and the community in controlling crime, fear, and disorder.

Abstract

The report first presents key themes in community policing as they contrast with the traditional model of professional policing. Community policing is portrayed as a collaboration between police and community entities in the implementation of problem-oriented policing (identifying, analyzing, and developing strategies to counter and prevent crime and disorder problems in a community). Some unresolved tensions between the traditional policing model and community policing are also discussed. The second part of the report focuses on restorative justice principles and their implications for addressing crime through the criminal justice system. Community policing under the rubric of restorative justice no longer regards crime as a series of individual events but as a phenomenon that emerges from the nature of communities and their constituents; consequently, the police alone cannot control crime without the involvement of the community. The ethos of community policing and problem-solving is to focus on developing the controls that can deliver informal social regulation in a way that promotes cohesion. Community policing should promote self-help, self-policing, and self-organization among communities committed to improving the quality of life for all residents. The third part of this report focuses on the development of a new paradigm for crime control based in restorative justice and community policing. This is followed by a review of models and processes that are emerging under restorative justice. These include victim-offender mediation, forms of restitution, family group conferencing, a shift away from punishment, and "healing circles." 110 notes, a 121-item bibliography, and appended list of 18 restorative justice resources