Harm and Repair: Observing Restorative Justice in Vermont

This paper analyzes the decision-making process for negotiating reparative contracts with offenders in a restorative justice model. Based on a content analysis of videotaped Com-munity Reparative Board meetings with probationers in Vermont, this paper (a) defines restoration as a core concept in restorative justice; (b) examines how boards identify harm to victims and community; (c) how they identify strategies to repair identified harm; (d) how often repair becomes a line item in reparative contracts; and (e) offers in-terpretation for situations in which harm is not identified and/or not repaired

Addressing Individual and Community Needs in the Aftermath of Campus Sexual Misconduct: Restorative Justice as a Way Forward in the Re-Entry Process

Restorative justice is an approach to incidents of harm involving a high level of support and accountability for people who cause harm. To date, there is no federal regulation nor commonly applied standard of care for re-entry to campus by a student who has been found responsible for sexual misconduct. Restorative justice re-entry circles represent a promising approach to the reintegration of students, taking into account the needs of the individual survivor, the student who violated policy, and the safety concerns of the campus community. Using a case study, this article outlines an example of a re-entry circle and discusses the lessons learned with regard to concerns about the student’s mental health status, issues of race and racism on campus, and the role of a trauma-informed approach to circle practice in incidents involving a complex interplay of mental health, social status, and race on campus

Becoming a Restorative University

This article describes the concept of a restorative university, an organisation that embraces restorative justice principles and practices. The article reviews the emergence of contemporary restorative justice; a framework for restorative justice in higher education; implementation in student affairs; the place of restorative justice in academic affairs; restorative justice and organisational culture; what we know about campus implementation, including results of a survey of universities; and suggestions for practical next steps for higher education institutions to become more restorative. Where possible, the article references restorative applications globally, but predominantly focuses on university campuses in the United States

Restorative Justice and Responsive Regulation in Higher Education: The Complex Web of Campus Sexual Assault Policy in the United States and a Restorative Alternative

Sexual assault policy on college campuses in the United States is a complex system guided by federal policy, state policy, and local mandates. When students violate sexual misconduct policies, campuses primarily rely on suspensions and expulsions, paralleling the criminal justice system’s reliance on incarceration as a solution based on stigmatization and separation. Since the 1990s, restorative justice has made inroads as an alternative response to student misconduct, but application to sexual misconduct is rare. The Campus PRISM Project (Promoting Restorative Initiatives on Sexual Misconduct) is a network of academics and practitioners exploring a restorative approach within a responsive regulatory framework. This chapter describes the current web of policy as an example of regulatory formalism, which follows from the federal Title IX legislation on sexual harassment. Then it explains the restorative approach promoted by the Campus PRISM Project. This approach embraces a “whole campus” response including restorative circles for sexual assault prevention efforts, restorative conferencing in response to misconduct, and reentry circles for students returning from suspension

Restorative Justice in Colleges and Universities: What Works When Addressing Student Misconduct

This chapter examines what we know about what works when employing RJ for college student misconduct. We begin with a brief review of published studies that focus on “Campus RJ” and then examine six case studies from universities across the United States that illustrate how RJ benefits harmed parties and enhances student learning

Student Conduct, Restorative Justice, and Student Development: Findings from the STARR Project (Student Accountability and Restorative Research Project)

The STudent Accountability and Restorative Research (STARR) Project is a multi-campus study of college student disciplinary practices in the United States, comparing traditional conduct hearings that use restorative justice practices with traditional college student misconduct hearings. This study provides a coherent set of learning goals in college student conduct administration and a robust data set capable of measuring student learning across different types of disciplinary practice, in particular, comparing traditional “model code” practice with emerging restorative justice processes. Integrating several student development theories, we identify six student development goals: just community/self authorship, active accountability, interpersonal competence, social ties to institution, procedural fairness, and closure. The STARR Project includes data from 18 college and university campuses in the United States. We analyzed 659 student conduct cases based on surveys of student offenders, conduct officers, and other participants in the conduct processes. Using multiple regression to control for a variety of influences, we determined that the type of conduct process used is the single most influential factor in student learning. In addition, we consistently found that restorative justice practices have a greater impact on student learning than model code hearings

Reluctant Participants in Restorative Justice? Youthful Offenders and their Parents

This paper examines offender and parental involvement in the Vermont Juvenile Restorative Panels Program. In this program, juvenile offenders on probation appear before citizen-run boards to negotiate the terms of their probation, which may include apologies, community service, restitution, and competency development tasks. Victims and parents of the offender also participate. This study reports findings from a qualitative analysis of 22 cases, including observations of panel meetings and interviews with program coordinators, offenders, parents, and victims. We find that offenders vary in the level of participation as well as in their willingness to take responsibility. Parents do not understand the program well, worry about their child’s likelihood of compliance, but generally support the goals of the program. Implications of these findings for restorative practices with juveniles is explored in the concluding section

Anxiously Awaiting the Future of Restorative Justice in the United States

The problems of mass incarceration and other criminal justice system failures in the United States—such as racial disparities, wrongful convictions, and high recidivism rates—have reached a tipping point. For the first time in decades, coalitions of politicians on the left and right are seeking criminal justice reform. What is the place of restorative justice in these efforts? What is the depth and breadth of restorative justice implementation? How familiar is the American public with restorative justice? How successful is the restorative justice movement? In this article, we seek answers to these questions as we try to assess the future of restorative justice in the United States

Campus PRISM: A Report on Promoting Restorative Initiatives for Sexual Misconduct on College Campuses

The Campus PRISM Project (Promoting Restorative Initiatives for Sexual Misconduct) includes an international team of researchers and practitioners who are deeply invested in reducing sexual and gender-based violence by exploring how a restorative approach may provide more healing and better accountability

Fluctuations in the Site Disordered Traveling Salesman Problem

We extend a previous statistical mechanical treatment of the traveling salesman problem by defining a discrete "site disordered'' problem in which fluctuations about saddle points can be computed. The results clarify the basis of our original treatment, and illuminate but do not resolve the difficulties of taking the zero temperature limit to obtain minimal path lengths.Comment: 17 pages, 3 eps figures, revte