- Restorative Justice encompasses three main ideas: to repair, encounter and transform.
- Emphasizes repairing the harm caused by criminal behavior.
- Accomplished through a cooperative process that allows all affected by the crime to be involved.
- This cooperation can lead to transformations of the offender and victim.
- Restorative justice is one of the main principles of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
- Crime causes victimization and therefore justice should focus on mending that harm.
- The community must be involved in building peace, while the government maintains order.
- In the Restorative Justice approach, the main goal is not to punish the offender but to seek healing for the victim of any embarrassment, loss of liberty and health from their offender.
- This allows the offender to also make amends for their actions and understand the damages they have caused. Restorative Justice focuses on rehabilitating the offender without requiring incarceration.
- The point of offender accountability should be to repair harm. In the formal court process, we punish offenders for their actions rather than have them make amends.
- Restorative Justice involves everyone that was most harmed by the criminal activity. This includes secondary victims (family and friends) of both the victim and offender as well as the community and government representatives.
- No one has to participate in a restorative justice process. They are invited to do so, and if they choose not to the offender will then go through the formal court process.
- It is up to the community to promote peace and the absence of conflict. In a healthy, respectful community less government is needed to maintain order.