Balanced and Restorative Justice: Bringing Victims, Offenders and the Community to the Table.

Source: (2005) Children’s Legal Rights Journal. 25(1):1-8.

This article discusses the theories behind Balanced and Restorative Justice (“BARJ”) and suggests that it be used as a compliment to the present juvenile criminal justice system. The goal of BARJ is to include all persons and entities involved in or affected by criminal behavior. The main objectives of BARJ are threefold: personal accountability of the offender, competency development, and community safety. The current criminal justice system is inadequate because it leaves victims outside of the restitution process and without any power to share their stories. Likewise, the community is not involved; instead, the crime and punishment is between the criminal and the State. With BARJ, the community and victim can be restored and the offender must account for his or her actions. Miller asserts that aside from the critiques of BARJ, if this system can be implemented to repair harm and keep safe communities, everyone wins.