April 28, 2006

One of our members who is currently taking courses in Criminal Justice pointed out an incredible subject for discussion. We can all benefit by learning more about this theory called Restorative Justice, and the topic puts together an incredible program for crime reduction, focused on community involvement, accountability, and progress measured by the amount of repair accomplished, rather than the amount of punishment inflicted.

Below are some of the major principles of the program. To read more, please visit our website at www.saveoursavannah.com to view the article. You can also type “Restorative Justice� in a search engine (google, yahoo, etc.) to study more about the idea.

Principles of Restorative Justice

  • Crime is injury.
  • Crime hurts individual victims, communities, and juvenile offenders and creates an obligation to make things right.
  • All parties should be a part of the response to the crime, including the victim if he or she wishes, the community, and the juvenile offender.
  • The victim’s perspective is central to deciding how to repair the harm caused by the crime.
  • Accountability for the juvenile offender means accepting responsibility and acting to repair the harm done.
  • The community is responsible for the well-being of all its members, including both victim and offender.
  • All human beings have dignity and worth.
  • Restoration – repairing the harm and rebuilding relationships in the community – is the primary goal of restorative juvenile justice.
  • Results are measured by how much repair was done rather than by how much punishment was inflicted.
  • Crime control cannot be achieved without active involvement of the community.
  • The juvenile justice process is respectful of age, abilities, sexual orientation, family status, and diverse cultures and backgrounds – whether racial, ethnic, geographic, religious, economic, or other – and all are given equal protection and due process.

The vision of this program focuses on support from the community, and community involvement in preventing and controlling crime, improving neighborhoods, and strengthening the bonds among community members. The Savannah-Chatham area and its community members can certainly meet the criterion outlined in programs such as these by working together and putting forth a concentrated effort against crime. Please write us with your feedback or ideas on how to implement restorative justice in our community, and don’t forget to email rebecca@saveoursavannah.com to sign up for one of our ten projects (see projects by clicking here).