Restorative Justice

Restorative justice is a philosophy and a set of practices that approach crime or wrongdoing from the perspective of harm, asking what harm has been done and what needs to be done to repair that harm. Restorative justice has indigenous origins and is a global movement to encourage societies to rethink how they respond to crime. Restorative justice programs exist throughout the United States within and outside the criminal justice system. The use of restorative justice (sometimes called restorative practices) in K–12 and higher education has grown since the 1990s, and in higher education, it is most often used in student conduct offices and residence life programs. This entry first describes restorative justice practices in general and then examines restorative justice programs in colleges and ...