Concept of Restorative Justice
The concept of restorative justice is an old and cherished ideal. The philosophical framework derives from numerous sources including Judeo-Christian writings and Native American practices.
In the Judeo-Christian tradition, restorative justice stems from the Old Testament and the Torah, especially in the deeper meaning of “Shalom” or “peace”: to restore that which has been broken. Many Native American peoples have envisioned justice in the symbolism of the circle – community, wholeness, connections unbroken.
Individual Accountability and Community Assistance
Two themes that permeate restorative justice are individual responsibility and the unique role of community. Restorative justice personalizes the law by proposing that crime is a violation of both the victim and the community. Both have suffered and both must be healed.
Thus the process of restorative justice does not end when the offender is released from incarceration. Rather the community has a vested interest in assisting the offender in his or her post-incarceration transition. The community offers the means and opportunities to restore the offender as a responsible, productive and law-abiding member of society. The community also holds the offender accountable for the offense and offers ways for him or her to make amends – to make right from wrong.
The restorative justice framework requires that offenders assume responsibility for their actions, realize that an injustice has been committed, and take action in some way to repair the harm done. The individual’s transition is a time for problem solving on all sides, a skill many criminal offenders lack. Thus ideally, transition assistance models a constructive, problem-solving approach for dealing with life’s challenges and difficulties. By his participation in these community-based programs, and through services rendered to the community that was harmed, the offender realizes both responsibility and restoration.
Restorative Justice In Action - OAR's Community Service Program
A practical application of restorative justice is the OAR Community Service program. Since its founding in 1974, Offender Aid and Restoration has championed the notion that if offenders are to be held accountable to the community, the community must offer the means for these individuals to give back in tangible ways by performing service in the common good. Thus juveniles and adults ordered by the Court to perform Community Service come to realize that the entire community has been victimized by their actions.
The OAR Community Service program strives to teach as well as supervise, and to affirm that right can come from wrong. Similarly OAR programs for inmates and ex-offenders embody the principle that the community is ultimately the means by which offenders make their way back to productive citizenship. By combining volunteerism with professional reentry services, OAR’s programs facilitate the process of restorative justice. OAR’s dedicated volunteers and outstanding professional staff work to restore the circle of peace.