Restorative Practice: Background and Framework

Restorative practice is a social science that studies how to mend broken relationships or strengthen weakened relationships between individuals, communities, or countries. Restorative justice is a criminal justice response to crime and wrongdoing and is diametrically opposed to retributive justice, which is society’s existing response to crime. While retributive justice treats crime as a violation of law, requiring punishment, restorative practice treats criminal activity as a violation of people, requiring the wrongdoer (the offender) to accept responsibility and take steps to heal the relationship. In this way, the focus is on the needs of the victim while holding the offender accountable. The process allows each party to have a role in deciding how best to heal the relationship. Restorative practice is not meant to replace traditional criminal justice. In fact, to be truly effective, restorative processes and principles must be embedded into and operate within traditional criminal justice systems.