Ambitions and Critiques of Restorative Justice Post COVID-19

A special issue of Laws (ISSN 2075-471X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2024) | Viewed by 21359

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Restorative Justice for All (RJ4All) International Institute, The RJ4All Rotherhithe Community Centre, London SE16 2LJ, UK
Interests: restorative justice; criminal justice; human rights; youth justice and policy; user-led research methods

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you for your interest in this Special Issue on ambitions and critiques of restorative justice. Independently of where you are, we are all living in unprecedented times, and life will never be the same. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed not only how we work with others and deliver services, but also our very way of living. The changes that should be anticipated in relation to justice and criminal justice will be unprecedented. Whether for financial, political or health and safety-related reasons, criminal justice institutions such as prisons, courts and probation must be reviewed.

Restorative justice has appeared in many forms around the world, with some jurisdictions welcoming it through their formal justice systems and legislation. Others continue to see it as a community-led practice that should be offered for trivial or minor harms. As the evidence is still accumulating and the debate on the contribution of restorative justice continues, this Special Issue will look back but also into the future to identify key critiques and ambitions for its theory and practice.

This Special Issue will reflect on both normative and practical matters. Practitioners and users of restorative and criminal justice, as well as researchers and scholars, are invited to submit their work. Critical perspectives, whether based on solid normative reasoning or empirical evidence, will be especially welcomed. We are particularly interested in views that explore the role of restorative justice in future policymaking and justice practice, whether within or outside the criminal justice system. Research papers, opinion pieces, commentaries, proceedings and book reviews related to the topic will all be considered.

Dr. Theo Gavrielides
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • ambitions of restorative justice
  • critiques of restorative justice
  • criminal justice policy
  • legislative reforms

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 183 KiB  
Editorial
Ambitions and Critiques of Restorative Justice Post COVID-19
by Theo Gavrielides
Laws 2022, 11(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws11010006 - 11 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3950
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic did not only change how we work with others and deliver public services, but also our very way of living. Furthermore, the way we view and experience conflict and violence will never be the same. Therefore, changes anticipated in relation [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic did not only change how we work with others and deliver public services, but also our very way of living. Furthermore, the way we view and experience conflict and violence will never be the same. Therefore, changes anticipated in relation to justice and criminal justice will be unprecedented, with criminal justice institutions such as prisons, courts and probation to be reviewed whether for financial, political or health and safety-related reasons. This Editorial introduces this Special Issue, which focuses on highlighting both the ambitions but also critiques of the role that restorative justice can play in the post COVID-19 era. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ambitions and Critiques of Restorative Justice Post COVID-19)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Other

11 pages, 252 KiB  
Article
School-Based Restorative Justice: Lessons and Opportunities in a Post-Pandemic World
by Gabriel M. Velez
Laws 2021, 10(3), 71; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws10030071 - 1 Sep 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 6978
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected schools and the people within them. The move to remote schooling forced practitioners of school-based restorative justice to adapt and innovate, as theory and practice had almost exclusively focused on in-person instruction. In this paper, I first [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected schools and the people within them. The move to remote schooling forced practitioners of school-based restorative justice to adapt and innovate, as theory and practice had almost exclusively focused on in-person instruction. In this paper, I first review some of the challenges, adaptations, and lessons during the pandemic. I then argue that restorative justice in schools offers new and unique potential to address needs of educational communities and the students, educators, and staff within them as in-person instruction returns. Specifically, I suggest it could contribute to rebuilding social connection and community, bolstering mental health, and addressing inequities. Finally, I end with limitations and future directions for considering these extensions and evaluating their impact. School-based restorative justice alone cannot be a panacea for these issues, but could be integrated into other supports and services to address the stark needs of school communities and of the young people whose lives have been so deeply impacted by COVID-19. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ambitions and Critiques of Restorative Justice Post COVID-19)

Other

Jump to: Editorial, Research

18 pages, 344 KiB  
Perspective
We Cannot Return to “Normal”: A Post-COVID Call for a Systems Approach to Implementing Restorative Justice in Education (RJE)
by Martha A. Brown
Laws 2021, 10(3), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws10030068 - 19 Aug 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 7033
Abstract
Given the collective trauma caused by COVID-19 global pandemic, it is more important than ever that schools look for ways to create safe, trauma-sensitive, and restorative learning environments. This article presents implementation science, readiness assessments, and ongoing evaluation as central and integral to [...] Read more.
Given the collective trauma caused by COVID-19 global pandemic, it is more important than ever that schools look for ways to create safe, trauma-sensitive, and restorative learning environments. This article presents implementation science, readiness assessments, and ongoing evaluation as central and integral to all efforts that seek to transform punitive schools into restorative schools. The author first presents five elements of a school’s relational ecology as a framework for comparing a punitive school to a restorative school: structure, leadership, staff, students, and response to behavioral incidents. Then, the author calls upon school administrators, as well as restorative justice trainers who work with schools, to utilize a systems change approach that supports whole-school change. Without a full commitment to systems change, restorative justice in education (RJE) will continue to fall short of expectations and the educational system itself will continue to cause the same harm to marginalized students as it did prior to the pandemic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ambitions and Critiques of Restorative Justice Post COVID-19)
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