Small acts of kindness go a long way – and Restorative Justice is effective for being personal.

I am in beautiful Boise Idaho.  The 2nd Annual Northwest Alcohol Conference – it’s already seeming like it will be a good conference.  Last night in our hotel room, my daughter and I were starteled by a knock at the door.  Surely, they must have the wrong room, “I have a delivery for you”.  What!?  [...]

Restorative Justice is victim centered, we all have obligations to support each other.

There are three responses to victimization.  Revenge, Retaliation and Restoration.
At first people think the first two are the same.  They are different, think of revenge going out and retaliation going in.
Revenge can turn some victims into a victimizer.  I’ve seen it happen on many occassions.  The person harmed is so angry they want to add as much [...]

How is this for “Justice” . . . and really what is “justice”?

Some confidentiality here to protect people. 
A 17 year old purchases marijuana from a classmate.  ”Seller” is caught by law enforcement, “seller” identifies purchaser.  ”Purchaser” is called in for investigation.  Initially denies purchase, then negotiates, asks questions, admits.  Purchaser turns over the $15 bag of pot.  Purchaser given “grace” by the Police Officer, and then is called in as a [...]

Strategic Prevention Framework, a native tale and my toliet

The title of this blog is bound to be confusing.  These three things became related to me this morning.  Actually the Three Sister tale and SPF (Strategic Prevention Framework were already linked). 
So lets begin with SPF. Basically it means looking at a problem with a 3 prong approach – prevention, intervention and treatment.  For much [...]

Talking about Restorative Justice requires confidence.

You might be just learning about Restorative Justice.
You might be trying to implement Restorative Justice in your school, department, workplace or non-profit.
Maybe you are meeting with someone who could potentially benefit from being part of Restorative Justice.  (This would have some different points – I’ll do a post on that in the future).
You might be [...]

RJ to law enforcement and prevention.

Here at SCVRJP, we have a few really awesome cutting edge initiatives.  Of course I maybe a little biased – I had a lot to do with each of these programs.
The first is our Underage Consumption Panels, search this site for posts that mention underage.  Anyone who is issued an underage age consumption ticket from [...]

Remembering there are many ‘right’ answers . . .

I keep a pile of books by my bed, the ones I want to read.  The ones I’ve started and wanted to finish.  What amazes me is that whenever I go back to a ’spiritually’ based book.  I read exactly what I needed!  It’s really odd, like if I had kept reading, I wouldn’t have [...]

Book Review by a fellow RJ practitioner & blogger

Lorenn and I got introduced by a response she had to a post on teen courts.  We have been emailing about writing an article together, and I’ve really enjoyed networking.  The internet, social networks certainly give us great opportunities to share ideas.  I found her book review very helpful, so I asked about posting it [...]

Article posted in from a Facebook Friend

Restorative Justice:
A Dream of Restoration and Transformation
Artika Tyner
I have a dream that we won’t have to talk about ‘restorative justice’ because it will be understood that true justice is about restoration, and about transformation. I have
a dream. – Dr. Howard Zehr
Once a crime has occurred the question then becomes: How do we address the crime [...]

Knowing our own skills and boundaries

A fellow Restorative Justice practitioner emailed today.  She had recieved a referral dealing with a loss of life.  She was looking for some help, support and guidance.  I coached her to the best of my skill and ability.
The referral was well intented, but did not seem to generate from the victims, and that is always [...]