Restorative Justice Research Paper

Definition (2 Paragraphs) (Paraphrased!) (Britannica Academic Website - Lauren’s source!)
Restorative justice is a response to a criminal’s actions. It hones in on lawbreakers restitution, which is where a criminal would return a stolen good or pay for a broken item. It also focuses on solving the problems of a crime that was committed between the victim and the offender (the person who committed the crime), and brings them together so peace can be restored between the two or more people. (Britannica)
Restorative Justice involves an intervention with the offender, the victim, their families, and the community to work together to solve the conflict. The criminal takes accountability for their crime while other members of the intervention give
It was also brought up because during the victim’s right’s movement, people wanted a process where victims had more involvement in the court process. Many elements of Restorative Justice were used in different Indigenous Cultures, a case in 1974 in Kitchener, Ontario, is considered the first crime to use Restorative Justice. Two teenagers met with all the 22 people whose property they had vandalized and pay for it. This was called the “Kitchener Experiment.” Numerous experimental programs that were based on the Kitchener experiment began to pop up, but were small programs that had little impact to the larger scale. In 1994, the American Bar Association started to support victim-offender mediation, a type of Restorative Justice. Support also came from the National Organization for Victim Assistance, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the European Union, as they continue to encourage Restorative Justice. “Today, thirty states either have restorative justice principles in their mission statements and policy plans or legislation promoting a more balanced and restorative juvenile justice system. This institutionalization is further buttressed by the American Bar Association, which began offering grants in 2008 to develop restorative justice initiatives in criminal law settings.”
The first main type is Victim-offender mediation - the oldest practice of Restorative Justice and is mostly used in cases of property crimes or minor attacks. The victim and offender have a face to face conversation, guided by a counselor, and supported by a small amount of support people, such as family or friends. The second type of Restorative Justice is Victim-Offender dialogue, which comes from victim-offender mediation. Victim-offender dialogue is used in cases of more severe violence, for example, murder. Victim-offender dialogue happens after the court case and while the criminal is serving their punishment. The victim is the one to request the meeting. There has to be a long time of preparation for both the victim and the offender beforehand, and there has to be skilled coordinators.