NCJ Number
199544
Date Published
2002
Length
20 pages
Annotation
After discussing how to assess the extent to which a justice system is restorative, this chapter suggests a way to view the relative roles of the state and community in overseeing a restorative response to crime, and then it proposes the broad outlines of a restorative system.
Abstract
In assessing the extent of "restorativeness" in a justice system, the chapter proposes four values or attributes that might be described as restorative processes, as well as four values or attributes that are more in the nature of restorative outcomes. These can be placed on a continuum, the other end of which represents the antithesis of restorative justice. The four values related to restorative processes are inclusion, balance of interests, voluntary practice, and problem solving orientation. The specified attributes of restorative outcomes are encounter, amends, reintegration, and whole truth. The antitheses of the aforementioned eight values are exclusion, single interest, coercive, reprisal, separation, harm, ostracism, and legal truth. The second section of the chapter discusses community-government cooperation in the exercise of justice. The final section of the chapter profiles four models for the construction of restorative justice. One is a unitary model in which the restorative system is the only one available. The second is a dual-track model in which both systems stand side by side, with designated passages between them for parties to move back and forth. The third model is a safety-net model in which the restorative system is the basic response to crime, but conventional processes are available when needed. The fourth model is a hybrid, in which both approaches are linked into a single system. The author advises that a way to begin might be to construct the dual track system and then explore how this could be transformed into a unitary model in which the restorative system is the only one available. 7 figures and 9 notes