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Restorative Justice Initiatives and the Police: A sustainable relationship or competing values?

Abramson, Alana Marie
June 4, 2015

Source: (2003) Paper presented at the Sixth International Conference On Restorative Justice. Centre for Restorative Justice. 1-4 June. Vancouver BC. Downloaded 21 August 2003.

Restorative justice is a way of viewing the world that has been embraced by many different people who walk a range of life paths. This paradigm is increasingly being applied to areas where human beings are in conflict, particularly in the field of criminal justice. Many academics, members of the legal profession, indigenous peoples, advocates, human rights supporters, prison abolitionists, members of faith communities and others share a vision of justice that possesses the values of honesty, respect, trust, humility, sharing, inclusivity, empathy, courage, forgiveness and love. Frustration with the current system, combined with the tendency to treat youth involved in conflict differently than adults has lead to the development of youth justice programs based on restorative principles in North America, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe. The infancy of these programs and problems with traditional evaluative measures have resulted in few writings about specific programs and how they work with the contemporary criminal justice system. Abstract courtesy of the Centre for Restorative Justice, Simon Fraser University, http://www.sfu.ca/cfrj/index.html.

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