Defining Restorative Justice

This spring semester, I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to intern with Alicia Gibson for Minneapolis City Council Ward 10. As a political science and urban studies double major, this was the perfect internship for me, politics and cities. Alicia Gibson has three pillars that motivate her running for City Council: economic justice, environmental justice, and restorative justice. This was the first time I had heard of restorative justice, and since learning about it, I have started seeing it everywhere, which is why I was inspired to write a blog defining restorative justice.

Restorative justice is unique in that it emphasizes accountability while repairing the community, focused on both victims and offenders alike. It acknowledges systemic racism and how the cycle is continuously enforced today. It looks not only at the crime, but its effects on the community involved and works to repair the damage. Programs, like the ones created by the Centre for Justice and Reconciliation, take steps towards restorative justice. Their website restorativejustice.org is a helpful educational resource, they even have a short tutorial on restorative justice. The acknowledgement of this kind of justice by local political leaders is important, because they can begin to not only understand the community, but offer a community-driven solution .

Restorative justice can be characterized by three ideas, repair, encounter, and transformation. Repair defines crime as not only harmful, but recognizes that the harm caused should be addressed when seeking justice. Encounter describes the interaction between victim and offender, and their decision of healing. Finally, transformation changes the foundation of people and their communities.

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