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Restorative Policing

Lofty, Mel
June 4, 2015

Source: (2002) Paper presented at “Dreaming of a New Reality,” the Third International Conference on Conferencing,
Circles and other Restorative Practices, August 8-10, 2002, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

According to Superintendent Mel Lofty of the Thames Valley Police, restorative policing can be seen as a set of principles or a philosophy rooted in the ideals and practices of restorative justice. Restorative justice, states Lofty, is not the solution to all the problems and inadequacies of the Western criminal justice system,. Yet it can be a significant step in changing the paradigm about how we respond to crime and the harm it causes. With respect to policing, the principles of restorative justice fit well with the goal of changing policing from a “forceâ€? to a “serviceâ€? ethos. In this paper then, Lofty draws out the implications of a restorative approach for policing.

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