Long road to healing in Zimbabwe
December 12, 2009
….The last day was spent focused on reconciliation and what the facilitator called, “The perpetrator’s journey.” Presentations were made focusing on the two common responses to perpetrators of violence: retributive justice, punishing the perpetrators for wrong-doing, or...
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Jamaican Ministry seeks to reduce case backlog through dispute resolution
December 12, 2009
“We have asked for weekly reports from the courts. We started in August, and when we look at what is coming, we are having in the region of 3,000 cases per week not being heard in the courts,” he explained. However, Mr. Rainford noted that the thrust towards sending more cases for...
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Restorative justice practices will help us get at the roots
December 12, 2009
If we want these Asian-American students and their peers to be able to attend a school that is safe for them, then we must get to the heart of what true school safety looks like. A part of school safety is found in holding people accountable for their violent actions, and we can see that...
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West Yorkshire Police try an unusual Christmas card
December 12, 2009
Chief Superintendent Alison Rose said: “This card looks just like any other Christmas card until you open it – then you see the letter written by Amy. It’s a very emotive letter and should soften even the hardest heart. I hope that the criminals who receive the card read it...
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Escobar’s son seeks atonement for father’s sins
December 12, 2009
….In fact, Marroquin says, he can’t forget about his father’s victims. And that made him want to do more — to meet the young men who lost their fathers to Escobar’s henchmen. Entel’s film provided him with the opportunity. In the documentary, Marroquin is...
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Review: When Brute Force Fails: How to have less crime and less punishment
December 12, 2009
Most crimes in the United States are committed by long-term repeat offenders, a majority of whom are eventually caught. One of every 100 adults in the United States is now behind bars; many are serving lengthy sentences. The crimes they committed clearly did not “pay†in any...
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The need for a new kind of justice in youth crime
December 6, 2009
One mother of a youthful offender described their experience this way: “For the first time my son was forced to look at how his actions impacted others in a domino-like effect. The connection was genuine, as he had to look at the faces and into the eyes of numerous individuals wronged by...
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Civil Rights and Restorative Justice project at Northeastern University School of Law
December 6, 2009
….The two components of CRRJ’s program are research and remediation. Scholars from a range of disciplines- including law, criminal justice, history, sociology, and political science – are engaged in CRRJ’s empirical research, the main program of which is compiling and...
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Platforms for a restorative society in Northern Ireland
December 6, 2009
This text argues that promoting restorative practices – through actions that remedy wrongs, actions that bring people who have been estranged into relationships, new ways of working and new structural arrangements – is a practical way of building platforms of reconciliation...
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Violence prevention: the evidence
December 6, 2009
The violence prevention strategies covered in the seven briefings are: 1. Developing safe, stable and nurturing relationships between children and their parents and caregivers; High-quality trials in the United States of America and other developed countries have shown that both the Nurse...
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Dignity in Schools Campaign releasing national resolution for ending school pushout
December 3, 2009
The resolution points to a range of factors, including excessive suspensions, expulsions, and school arrests, which contribute to the “pushout†crisis in our schools. Our current disciplinary rates are the highest in the nation’s history and have more than doubled over the...
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Revise laws to lower prison costs, keep everyone safer
December 3, 2009
A bipartisan team of legislators has been working with the Council of State Governments, the Pew Center on the States, Detroit Renaissance and the Detroit Regional Chamber as well as prosecutors, law enforcement leaders and faith groups to adopt programs that have proven effective at keeping...
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CeaseFire: A public health approach to reduce shootings and killings
December 3, 2009
CeaseFire’s use of violence interrupters made the program unique. Although many public health campaigns hire people who are adept at reaching target populations, hiring former gang members is not a common approach in the criminal justice field. CeaseFire’s violence interrupters...
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Making Good in England: Engaging with the public for restorative justice reform
November 30, 2009
One of the most difficult problems facing restorative justice advocates is how to convince the public that this approach is better than harsh, retributive-sounding responses. I have not conducted a scientific study by any means, but I have made a point lately of reading comments posted in...
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