Introduction
"What's fundamental about restorative justice (practices) is a shift away from thinking about laws being broken, who broke the law, and how we punish people who broke the laws. There's a shift to: there was harm caused, or there's a disagreement or dispute, there's conflict, and how do we repair the harm, address the conflict, meet the needs, so that relationships and community can be restored. It's a different orientation. It is a shift"
Cheryl Graves
Community Justice for Youth Institute
| Traditional Approach | Restorative Approach |
| School and rules are violated | People and relationships violated |
| Justice focuses on establishing guilt | Justice identifies needs and obligations |
| Accountability = Punishment | Accountability = understanding impact, repairing harm |
| Justice directed at person who caused harm, person who experienced harm ignored | Person who caused harm, person who experienced harm and school all have direct roles in justice process |
| Rules and intent outweigh outcome is positive/negative | Person who caused harm is responsible for harmful behavior, repairing harm and working toward positive outcomes |
| No opportunity for remorse or amends | Opportunity given for amends and expression of remorse |
This page was last updated on September 18, 2023