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Critical Issues in Restorative Justice
Howard Zehr and Barb Toews, editorsProf. David Karp, Skidmore College
"raises the most important questions in restorative justice today...assembles
an impressive array of scholars and practitioners to answer them."
Opening The Dialogue
In a mere quarter-century, restorative justice has grown from a few scattered experimental projects into a worldwide social movement, and then into an identifiable field of practice and study.
Moving beyond its origins within the criminal justice arena, restorative justice is now being applied in schools, homes and the workplace.
The restorative justice approaches and concepts are being used to address issues on the micro level — among individuals, within communities — but, as illustrated by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, are also being applied to the macro level. Restorative justice programs are being operated and promoted by individuals and by community-based organizations, but also by government bodies. Some advocates are arguing that restorative justice has implications for our social and economic systems, but also for the way we live our personal lives. With a few exceptions, evaluations of restorative processes and outcomes have been remarkably positive.
The trickle has turned into a river in a remarkably short time.
So if restorative justice has been so successful, so widely embraced, why a book that raises hard issues about the field?
About the Editors:
Howard Zehr is one of the founders of the restorative justice field, having directed the first victim offender reconciliation program (VORP) in the U.S. He is a Professor of Restorative Justice and co-director of the graduate Conflict Transformation Program at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) in Virginia. He is the author of the classic book "Changing Lenses: A New Focus for Crime and Justice," and editor of "The Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding" series.
Barb Toews is a restorative justice practitioner, trainer and mediator, who was the founding director of a VORP in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She currently facilitates restorative justice programs in prisons through the Pennsylvania Prison Society, and she holds a masters degree in Conflict Transformation from EMU.
Go to: Introduction | Table of Contents | About the Authors