Restorative Justice

Restorative justice is a philosophy that places emphasis on the harm caused by crime. It promotes responses to crime that seek to address these harms and hold offenders accountable for their actions by imposing sanctions drafted in a collaboration that includes the victim, community members, and the justice system. A restorative approach seeks to identify what needs to be done to correct problems caused by crime through recognition and understanding between the offender, the victim, and the community. Rather than utilizing the justice system for the sole purpose of punishing the offender, a restorative approach suggests that the justice system should impose sanctions on the offender that address the overall harm to the victim and the community caused by crime. This entry discusses the basic ...