COMMUNITY The states below have become members of the Restorative Justice Community National Network and are actively seeking service providers in their state. TEXAS KANSAS MICHIGAN MINNESOTA

CONTACT US IF » You are or know someone who is incarcerated in a State or County facility. » You are or know someone who has been released and is having a hard time. » You are the family of someone in Jail or Prison. » You are the victim and need some support. » You and or your church want to get involved. » You are a service provider.  Please sign up to get listed either publicly or privately as a resource. » You or your church/group would like more information about starting a affiliate group in your community. » You would like to be a Mentor, penpal or instructor for someone incarcerated. » You like to have the sign up block on the top-left corner of this page. CLICK HERE TO CONTACT US

Experts in the justice community acknowledge that Restorative Justice is a success. However, most of the proven programs require the assistance of many other organizations and ultimately the support of the community if they are to be adopted by our society and become standards. Unless the Restorative Justice movement moves into the mainstream of our society it will remain a cottage industry comprised of localized ministries and government programs, starting and stopping, subject to grants and donation and ultimately may fail to reach the critical mass of social acceptance needed to survive. Restorative Justice Community is trans-denominational and ministry independent. It is a framework that is easily replicated in any city which leverages technology, facilitates expansion, recognizes and communicates best practices, and promotes collaboration between government, church, businesses, and the justice system.

MISSION To provide a framework of technology, consulting, support, and partners that will enable the faith community to establish collaborative Restorative Justice Communities in cities across the nation.     VISION Restorative Justice Communities will move proven programs and best practices from pilot projects and a small nonprofit cottage industry into the mainstream of our society to become a cornerstone of our justice system.   GOALS Increase awareness and understanding Reduce crime and recidivism Assist victims, offenders, and their families Facilitate re-entry Promote positive relationship between law enforcement and the community [ BACK TO TOP ]

The standard for most nations is retributive justice, which focuses on punishment and separation of the offender. As nations witnessed an increase in crime over the last several decades the response was to pass more laws, build more jails, increase sentences, and generally get tough. The goal was to create safe communities by separating undesirable people from the community and rehabilitate through punishment and separation. Unfortunately, the retributive justice system has failed society's expectations for rehabilitation because released offenders commit more crimes, the number of victims grow, offenders return to prison, and the cost to society grows. The increase in crime and cost has resulted in a growing dissatisfaction with the justice system.  Citizens feel disconnected, victims are dissatisfied, and those working in the system are frustrated.  There is a growing concern among policymakers over the increasing cost of justice in the face of this discontent and high rate of recidivism.  For many within the justice system, there is similar dissatisfaction because they know, more than anyone does, what the incarceration and recidivism statistics mean in terms of crime, suffering, and cost.  But without assistance from the community at large, little can be accomplished to improve it.    This dissatisfaction and concern is at the local, state, national, and international level.  Governments around the globe are aware that the prevailing retributive justice system is costly and failing the expectations of society.  On July 24, 2002, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations adopted a resolution (sponsored by 40 countries) encouraging all nations to use Basic Principles on the Use of Restorative Justice Programs in Criminal Matters (prepared by a UN Expert Group) in developing and implementing restorative justice in their countries. [ BACK TO TOP ]

Restorative Justice is an alternative but not a replacement of the retributive system.  Restorative justice does not advocate eliminating punishment and in fact teaches taking responsibility and accountability inherent in the retributive system.  It goes on to recognize three key parties to the crime, the offender, victim, and community.  Restorative justice serves the needs of these three parties through a process dedicated to restoration, healing, accountability, and prevention.  Offenders, through a process of apology and understanding, accept that they are not the victim and acknowledge the harm suffered by their victims.  Through a re-entry process, they earn their place back in the community.  The focus on creating peace in the community realizes offenders are part of the community, returning to the community, and works to develop a sense of social conscience, awareness of how one’s actions affect others, and a desire to be a positive member of society. Restorative justice is a widely used term for a spectrum of programs aimed at the outcomes discussed above.  Some programs are for youth some for adults, some are faith-based, some include education, job skills, substance abuse, and values clarification, some are during incarceration and some after.  Where retributive justice is a process that separates the community, restorative justice is a process that involves the community and requires the community.     Restorative justice is in its infancy and, in general, most of the funding and community support has been for trial programs.   Fortunately many restorative justice programs have already proven successful and no doubt more will. [ BACK TO TOP ]

The challenge that nations face is how to move proven Restorative Justice programs from pilot projects and a small nonprofit cottage industry into the mainstream of our society and a cornerstone of our justice system. This is an effort which will require cross sector collaboration, government support, awareness campaigns, education, and proven supportable outcomes. Outcomes must reduce crime, reduce cost, and be sustainable. We are encouraged by the financial, in-kind, and volunteer support from the public and the barrier for more is mostly awareness. We are encouraged by the federal funding of programs at local levels, which have been instrumental in pioneering proven programs. We are equally encouraged with the growing cooperation of state and local government agencies. Our technology, although not government funded, is a result of government cooperation and the funding of other projects. However, we do not see any one or two ministries or organizations emerging with enough support from other organizations that collectively they could champion Restorative Justice into the mainstream of our society. We do not see the federal or state governments funding initiatives, which would organize and unify the Restorative Justice movement. The alternative is for Restorative Justice organizations and ministries to work together – which would require a collaborative framework. Restorative Justice Community was developed to be the technology component of that framework.   [ BACK TO TOP ]

The cost of crime and the ripple effect that causes more crime and increases the cost is something that most of our society does not fully acknowledge. The most tangible cost associated with crime and punishment is the cost to house prisoners. The intangible costs are staggering and include cost of suffering, counseling, social service, property loss, insurance, judicial system, etc.

VICTIM: For the victim, there is anger, resentment, and suffering that also extends to family and friends.  The internalization of the crime has a long-term impact on the victim, family, and friends. Time and money are frequently spent on counseling, relationships end, children are impacted, social service funds are used, etc.  In some cases, the victim will become the offender.   OFFENDER:  For offenders, the ripple effect is clear when looking at recidivism rates of 50% and more.  Statistics like this are not acceptable for society and ultimately may drive legislation toward one end of the spectrum or the other -  “lock them up and throw away the key” or “prevent crime and reform prisoners.”  Human rights is the obvious argument against “throwing away the key” but it should also be the argument against our current high recidivism rates.     SOCIAL:  Having addressed the victim and the offender, the less obvious cost is that of our social conscious and values.  If we acknowledge that by accepting recidivism without working for change, we are throwing away the key and committing many to a life of crime and incarceration.

The U.S. Department of Justice states, based on current rates of first incarceration, the number of males that will enter State or Federal prison during their lifetime is 1 of 3 black, 1 of 6 Hispanic, and 1 of 17 white.  With regards to human rights and social obligation, some strong inferences and social comments could be drawn from these statistics and trends.  There are many restorative justice programs and especially re-entry programs that understand the socioeconomic conditions that contributed to crime and have dramatically reduced recidivism with equal success across race. FINANCIAL COST: Between the years 1982 and 1999, the amount spent on criminal justice climbed 218% for municipalities, 310% for counties, 369% for states, and 410% for the federal government. The national average cost to house a prisoner varies by state between $40 and $60 per day.  With an average cost per day of incarceration of $50 and approximately 2,166 million incarcerated, the cost to our society is approximately $40 billion per year.   It is one thing for society to pay for the cost of the first incarceration but another to pay for the cycle of re-incarcerations and the ripple effect caused by the associated crime.  Reducing recidivism means reducing crime and the cost to society of those crimes.  Recidivism accounts for as much as 50% of the annual $40 billion for housing as well as 50% of the crimes and other associated costs.

The national recidivism re-arrest rate is 67.5% and the incarceration rate is 51.6%.  But those statistics are based on the first 3 years of release and we know not every crime is reported and thus the crime rate is higher.   The impact of reducing recidivism is staggering.  If, as a community, we can reduce recidivism by as little as 1% then we may reduce the $40 billion per year cost by ½% or $200,000,000 annually.  However, if we move restorative justice into the mainstream of our society, and reduce recidivism to 40% that may reduce the $40 billion per year cost by 5% or $1,000,000,000 annually.  It is critical not to forget the less tangible costs (suffering, counseling, social service, property loss, insurance, judicial system, etc) of crime and that multiple crimes are committed before re-arrest.   [ BACK TO TOP ]

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