NCJ Number
154285
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 59 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1995) Pages: 47-54
Date Published
1995
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the adoption of the concept of "restorative justice" as a mission for correctional agencies.
Abstract
"Restorative justice" (Bazemore, 1994; Umbreit, 1994; Zehr, 1990) views crime as a violation of one person by another, rather than as a violation against the state. Dialog and negotiation are typical under this paradigm, with a focus on problemsolving for the future rather than establishing blame for past behavior. Punishing offenders is less important than providing opportunities to empower victims in their search for closure through gaining a better understanding of what happened and being able to move on with their lives, to impress upon offenders the real human impact of their behavior, and to promote restitution to victims. Restorative justice is being advocated more often in the context of broad systemic change in entire correctional systems. The Balanced and Restorative Justice Project (BARJ), supported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the U.S. Justice Department, is the clearest example of such system-change advocacy. The BARJ project is working intensively with five juvenile corrections systems in various parts of the Nation in an effort to initiate fundamental change in the manner in which those justice systems operate. The Dakota County Community Corrections Department (Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area) was selected as one of these jurisdictions. Based upon the experiences of Dakota County, this article discusses preparation for change in the implementation of the restorative-justice concept, the introduction of the concept to agency staff, setting the stage for change, implementing change, and the implications of the restorative-justice paradigm in corrections for the rest of the justice system. 15 references