18. Restorative, Transformative Justice
18.1 Introduction
Dr. Alana Marie Abramson and Melissa Leanne Roberts, M.A.
🎯 Learning Objectives
- Define restorative justice.
- Distinguish between the various conceptions of justice.
- Identify key restorative justice principles and stakeholders.
- Describe restorative justice models.
- Distinguish between restorative justice and Indigenous approaches to harm.
- Identify key benefits and critiques of restorative, transformative justice.
One of the central topics of criminology is the criminal justice system—the formal methods and institutions that societies use to address the harms caused by crime. While many criminological theories seek to explain criminal offending, others explore different ways of understanding and achieving justice. But what does it mean to achieve justice? And do some justice systems have advantages over others?
This chapter examines theories of restorative, transformative justice. These approaches are part of the critical tradition in criminology, as they argue for a paradigm shift in criminal justice and changes to the social structures that perpetuate injustice and inequality. Restorative, transformative justice re-evaluates our conceptions of justice, retribution, rehabilitation, and punishment.
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to define and distinguish between these various conceptions of justice. You will also be able to identify restorative justice principles, as well as key stakeholders and restorative justice models, and you will be able to explain how restorative, transformative justice can be used as an approach to criminal justice. Further, you will be able to understand important differences between restorative justice and Indigenous approaches to harm. Lastly, you will be able to identify the key benefits and critiques of restorative, transformative justice.
