Restoring Justice: An Introduction to Restorative Justice

Restoring Justice: An Introduction to Restorative Justice, Sixth Edition, offers a clear and convincing explanation of restorative justice, a movement within criminal justice with ongoing worldwide influence. The book explores the broad appeal of this vision and offers a brief history of its roots and development as an alternative to an impersonal justice system focused narrowly on the conviction and punishment of those who break the law. Instead, restorative justice emphasizes repairing the harm caused or revealed by criminal behavior, using cooperative processes that include all the stakeholders. The book presents the theory and principles of restorative justice, and discusses its four cornerpost ideas: Inclusion, Encounter, Repair, and Cohesion. Multiple models for how restorative justice may be incorporated into criminal justice are explored, and the book proposes an approach to assessing the extent to which programs or systems are actually restorative in practice. The authors also suggest six strategic objectives to significantly expand the use and reach of restorative justice and recommended tactics to make progress towards the acceptance and adoption of restorative programs and systems.