History of Restorative Justice
The first recognized case of Restorative Justice in Canada was documented in Elmira, Ontario, in 1974. Two young offenders vandalized 22 properties in a small Ontario town. The assigned probation officer, Mark Yantzi and a Mennonite prison support worker, Dave Worth, asked the judge for permission to arrange for the two offenders to meet with the victims of the vandalism in order to see if reparations could be made. News of the success of this new (yet centuries old) approach quickly spread.
Howard Zehr, Professor of Restorative Justice at Eastern Mennonite University, and Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz, Restorative Justice Coordinator at Mennonite Central Committee U.S., present "A Brief History of the Victim-Offender and Restorative Justice Movements" at Strasburg Mennonite Church, Strasburg, PA, February 27, 2012.
Howard Zehr, Professor of Restorative Justice at Eastern Mennonite University, and Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz, Restorative Justice Coordinator at Mennonite Central Committee U.S., present "A Brief History of the Victim-Offender and Restorative Justice Movements" at Strasburg Mennonite Church, Strasburg, PA, February 27, 2012.
Soon, Victim Offender Reconciliation Programs, using approaches based on concepts of responsibility, healing and reconciliation, were being created across Canada, in the United States and in Europe. These programs helped open the door to a more formal recognition of traditional approaches used in Aboriginal communities in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Soon innovative programs developed that were based on Aboriginal ways of dealing with harms between individuals and within the community, grounded in values of respect, responsibility, community and healing. The movement to design and recognize approaches to justice that focus on addressing the harm caused by crime has now become a world-wide phenomenon. [1]
Howard Zehr (seen in above video) is a leading writer in this field, also points out that the modern field of Restorative Justice did develop in the 1970’s, from case experiments in several communities with a proportionately sizable Mennonite population. “Seeking to apply their faith as well as their peace perspective to the harsh world of criminal justice, Mennonites and other practitioners (in Ontario, Canada, and later in Indiana, U.S.A.) experimented with victim-offender encounters that led to programs in these communities and later became models for programs around the world. Restorative justice theory developed initially from these particular efforts.”[2]
It is interesting to note three major streams which have nourished the development of Restorative Justice in Canada: aboriginal thought, Christian theology and values, and feminism.
Some Distinctives of Aboriginal Justice
- Crime is understood as harm against the entire community, affecting everyone.
- Elders are in a leadership role in the resolution process, and the whole community explores their role in the incident and in the needed resolution.
- No one is disposable….so the offender needs to be cared for, and re-integrated back into the community, not driven out in shame. The needs of the victim are also crucial to the process.
- Healing circles express and integrate native traditions and spirituality.
- Healing circles allow all participants to speak about how the incident has affected them.
- Healing circles empower the community to handle wrongdoing themselves, especially important since aboriginals are over-represented in Canadian prisons.
[1] The opening two paragraphs are adapted from “Perspectives on Restorative Justice”, produced by theConflict Resolution Network Canada, based at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G6 www.crnetwork.ca)
[2] Zehr, Howard. The Little Book of Restorative Justice (Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 2002)
