Traditionally when a crime is committed, the justice system has been primarily concerned with three questions:
- Who did it?
- What laws were broken?
- What should be done to punish or treat the offender?
This type of approach is considered retributive, where the intent is to get retribution or punishment for an offense committed.
Restorative justice programs emphasize a set of different questions:
- Who has been harmed?
- What is the nature of the harm resulting from the crime?
- What needs to be done to “make it right” or repair the harm?
- Who is responsible for this repair?
- How can the responsible party return to a law-abiding life?
The intent is to restore the victim and community affected by the crime as close as possible to pre-crime conditions.
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