Restorative Justice Responsive Regulation

This book argues against punitive justice systems and for restorative justice systems, arguing that there are good grounds for thinking that well-designed restorative justice processes will work better than existing criminal justice practices.

This book transcends current debate on government regulation by lucidly outlining how regulations can be a fruitful combination of persuasion and sanctions. The regulation of business by the United States government is often ineffective despite being more adversarial in tone than in other nations. The authors draw on both empirical studies of regulation from around the world and modern game theory to illustrate innovative solutions to this problem. Their ideas include an argument for the empowerment of private and public interest groups in the regulatory process and a provocative discussion of how the government can support and encourage industry self-regulation.

In Restorative and Responsive Human Services, Gale Burford, John Braithwaite, and Valerie Braithwaite bring together a distinguished collection providing rich lessons on how regulation in human services can proceed in empowering ways that heal and are respectful of human relationships and legal obligations. The human services are in trouble: combining restorative justice with responsive regulation might redeem them, renewing their well-intended principles. Families provide glue that connects complex systems. What are the challenges in scaling up relational practices that put families and primary groups at the core of health, education, and other social services? This collection has a distinctive focus on the relational complexity of restorative practices. How do they enable more responsive ways of grappling with complexity than hierarchical and prescriptive human services? Lessons from responsive business regulation inform a re-imagining of the human services to advance wellbeing and reduce domination. Readers are challenged to re-examine the perverse incentives and contradictions buried in policies and practices. How do they undermine the capacities of families and communities to solve problems on their own terms? This book will interest those who harbor concerns about the creep of domination into the lives of vulnerable citizens. It will help policymakers and researchers to re-focus human services to fundamental outcomes at the foundation of sustainable democracies.

This 2002 book addresses one of the most controversial topics in restorative justice: its potential for dealing with conflicts within families. Most restorative justice programs specifically exclude family violence as an appropriate offence to be dealt with this way. This book focuses on the issues in family violence that may warrant special caution about restorative justice, in particular, feminist and indigenous concerns. At the same time it looks for ways of designing a place for restorative interventions that respond to these concerns. Further, it asks whether there are ways that restorative processes can contribute to reducing and preventing family violence, to healing its survivors and to confronting the wellsprings of this violence. The book discusses the shortcomings of the present criminal justice response to family violence. It suggests that these shortcomings require us to explore other ways of addressing this apparently intractable problem.

Braithwaite's argument against punitive justice systems and for restorative justice systems establishes that there are good theoretical and empirical grounds for anticipating that well designed restorative justice processes will restore victims, offenders, and communities better than existing criminal justice practices. Counterintuitively, he also shows that a restorative justice system may deter, incapacitate, and rehabilitate more effectively than a punitive system. This is particularly true when the restorative justice system is embedded in a responsive regulatory framework that opts for deterrence only after restoration repeatedly fails, and incapacitation only after escalated deterrence fails. Braithwaite's empirical research demonstrates that active deterrence under the dynamic regulatory pyramid that is a hallmark of the restorative justice system he supports, is far more effective than the passive deterrence that is notable in the stricter "sentencing grid" of current criminal justice systems.

This book brings together a selection of papers originally presented and discussed at the fourth international restorative justice conference, held at the University of Tübingen. The contributors include many of the leading authorities in the burgeoning field of restorative justice, and they provide a comprehensive review of developing international practice and directions, and the context in which restorative justice practices are developing. Restorative Justice in Context moves beyond a focus on restorative justice for juveniles to a broader concern with the application of restorative justice in such areas as corporate crime, family violence and the application of restorative justice in cases of extreme violent crimes. The contexts examined are drawn from Europe, North America, Australasia and Japan. leading world authorities analyse international case studies reflecting the growth of restorative justice worldwiderapidly expanding area of interest

Restoring Safe School Communities: a whole school response to bullying,violence and alienation introduces a whole school approach to addressing the problems of bullying and violence in schools. Author Brenda Morrison proposes a continuum of responsive and restorative practices for building safe school communities. The first, most proactive, level of practices aims to develop all students' social and emotional competencies, to enable students to resolve their differences in caring and respectful ways. The second level of practices widens the circle of care around the participants. Typically this level of response occurs when the problem has become more protracted or has involved (and affected) a larger number of people, and involves other members of the school community stepping in to assist in the resolution of the conflict or concern. The third and final level of practices involves the participation of an even wider cross-section of the school community, including parents, guardians, social workers, and others who have been affected. This tertiary level of intervention is normally only used for serious incidents within the school. Morrison explains the thinking behind the suggested responses and shows how they can be implemented by practices such as a responsible citizen program and restorative justice circles and conferences.

Advocates of restorative justice question the state's ability to deliver satisfactory justice to the community, both in criminal and other cases. This collaborative 2001 volume looks at the burgeoning restorative justice movement and considers the relationship between restorative justice and civil society, examining debates and exploring ideas about who should 'control' restorative justice, the state or civil society. A diverse range of chapters, written by leaders in the field, engage with different aspects of restorative justice. Genuinely international, the book addresses aspects of civil society including schools, families, churches and private workplaces, the women's movement, victims of crime and indigenous groups. It also considers broader issues such as democracy, human rights, access and equity. A dynamic and provocative volume, this book attempts to bring the ideals of restorative justice to life so that victims, offenders, their families and communities have more of a say in the justice process.