Community Is Not a Place: A New Look at Community Justice Initiatives

Source: (2002) In, John G. Perry, ed. Repairing Communities Through Restorative Justice. Lanham, MD : American Correctional Association. Pp. 39-53.

“If community justice is going to have any success, then, it is necessary to take a deeper look at the meaning of community. This paper will discuss the importance of defining exactly what is meant by the term ‘community’ in community justice initiative, especially community policing and restorative justice. We propose a nongeographic perspective on community, which can be used to focus and define what community justice initiatives should look like and what they should be trying to achieve. This perspective is based on recent developments in restorative justice and community policing, especially the Wagga/Real Justice model of family group conferences which, when used by police, exemplifies and integration of restorative justice and community policing. The implications of this perspective for community justice initiatives in general will be explored.” (excerpt)