NCJ Number
196409
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 42 Issue: 3 Dated: Summer 2002 Pages: 514-533
Date Published
2002
Length
20 pages
Annotation
In townships across South Africa, the Community Peace Program, based in Cape Town, is helping local communities to establish peace committees; this article argues that through their commitment to a consensus-based, reparative approach to dealing with crime, peace committees reflect restorative processes and values.
Abstract
Part I of this article provides an overview of the peace committees established by the Community Peace Program and frames the ongoing debates about the meaning of restorative justice. The peace committees are composed of local township residents engaged in two separate activities: peacemaking and peace-building. In the peacemaking process, peace committee members attempt to help community members resolve specific conflicts; and the peace-building process aims to address the problems often underlying conflicts in these communities, such as poverty and the acute lack of employment opportunities and basic amenities. Part II of the article notes some similarities between peace committees and other restorative justice programs, contrasting these with other forms of private policing. These similarities are planned, as peace committee members emphasize the core restorative elements of their program so as to distinguish themselves from the other informal bodies that have sought to rule townships. This article argues that the differences between peace committees and other forms of township policing provide a dramatic example of a more general contrast between restorative justice programs and other private forms of security and policing. Specifically, restorative justice programs may reduce the accountability deficit often believed to follow the privatization of governance. Having considered how peace committees complement other restorative justice programs, the final section of this article describes and then critiques the respects in which peace committees differ from most restorative justice programs. The distinctiveness of peace committees lies primarily in their independence from the formal criminal justice system; their handling of a wide range of offenses (from minor disturbances to the most serious crimes); and their attempts to address the structural conditions that underlie offending. These committees offer one viable mechanism for future efforts to adapt to the state's limited ability to provide security for all. 32 notes and 54 references