People tend to think that restorative justice can only be accomplished when people who have committed crimes and the people they’ve hurt (offenders and victims) meet together in a shared process.\u00a0 This is incorrect.\u00a0 Restorative processes are voluntary and can be applied without ever bringing victims and offenders together.\u00a0 Many people who have suffered from crime, like a kind woman I am working with right now who was robbed while she was in the hospital, choose not to meet with the people who hurt them.<\/p>\n
In 2002 Hawai\u2018i began conducting a pilot restorative justice program for crime victims where there were no known offenders, Restorative Justice Without Offender Participation: A Pilot Program for Victims<\/a>.\u00a0 The pilot was in response to 70% of all criminal cases in the U.S. resulting in no one ever being arrested for the crime, and the belief that restorative interventions can assist people harmed by wrongdoing regardless of offender participation (about 45% of victims choose not to meet with offenders even when they are identified).<\/p>\n The pilot project for victims without known offenders was Hawai\u2018i’s first application of solution-focused brief therapy<\/a> to restorative justice programs.\u00a0 The United Kingdom has also been applying restorative justice combined with solution-focused brief therapy for students in Sefton Council<\/a> schools.<\/p>\n In all the restorative processes that we develop and provide now we use a solution-focused approach.<\/p>\n In our court pilot program, Pono Kaulike: A Hawaii Court Provides Restorative Justice Practices for Healing Relationships<\/a>, Walker & Hayashi, Federal Probation Journal, Vol. 71, No. 3, 18-24, 2007, most of the people involved had individual Restorative Sessions.\u00a0 Restorative Sessions are for individuals who do not meet with the other person involved in the wrongdoing weather that be the person who did the bad act or the one who was harmed.\u00a0 Most of the Restorative Sessions we provided were for offenders, but two victims had one without the offender participating.\u00a0 All the people who had the Sessions reported they were very helpful to them and our research into the recidivism of the offenders showed a significant reduced rate of repeat offending by those involved.<\/p>\n Our prison work has also demonstrated positive outcomes with a Modified Restorative Circle<\/em> process that is for incarcerated people who discuss how they might repair the harm they caused (we hope to run recidivism data in a couple years, but so far participant satisfaction is 100% positive).\u00a0 A paper is currently in press on the Modified Restorative Circle process, which is like the original Restorative Circle<\/a>, process for imprisoned people and their loved ones, only in the Modified process other imprisoned people participate as supporters because their loved ones are either unable or unwilling to participate.<\/p>\n In addition to the court and prison applications, we have developed and provided restorative responses for people harmed by “social injustice” including foster and homeless youth.<\/p>\n In Hawai\u2018i over 1000 foster youth have been provided with a restorative intervention applying a solution-focused approach, E Makua Ana Youth Circles: A Transition Planning Process for Youth Exiting Foster Care<\/em>, Walker, Connections, No. 21, Fall 2005, a publication of the International Victim Offender Mediation Association (VOMA).<\/p>\n And a pilot project for homeless youth using a restorative justice and solution-focused approach was successful in assisting almost half of the youth accomplish goals that included finding jobs and places to live, Waikiki Youth Circles:\u00a0 Homeless Youth Learn Goal Setting Skills<\/em>, Walker, Journal of Family Psychotherapy, Vol. 19(1) 2008.\u00a0 Both papers addressing youth who have experienced social injustice are on my website under the articles page www.lorennwalker.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" People tend to think that restorative justice can only be accomplished when people who have committed crimes and the people they’ve hurt (offenders and victims) meet together in a shared process.\u00a0 This is incorrect.\u00a0 Restorative processes are voluntary and can be applied without ever bringing victims and offenders together.\u00a0 Many people who have suffered from crime, like a kind woman I am working with right now who was robbed while she was in the hospital,… 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