Restorative Justice: A Systematic Review of the Social Work Literature

Restorative justice is an alternative paradigm for dealing with the effects of crime and wrongdoing that seeks to bring healing to victims, offenders, and the community. Although a key element of social work’s ethical code is the obligation to work toward social justice, this has been viewed primarily as efforts to ensure a fair distribution of resources and opportunities. Yet justice is also restorative in nature—seeking to restore and enhance victims, offenders, and communities to fuller functioning. This article systematically reviews 80 social work peer-reviewed articles dealing with restorative justice. The role of social workers in restorative justice programs remains largely unknown. Suggestions are made for enhancing social work practice in the restorative justice arena. of persons who are considered to be at a low risk of reoffending (Golder, Ivanoff, Cloud, Besel, mcKiernan, Bratt, & Bledsoe, 2005), there is an urgent need for alternative approaches to crime in this country. Golder et al. poignantly state, “Continued reliance on incarceration (i.e., incapacitation) as the primary strategy for reducing crime is not only expensive monetarily, but it has particularly deleterious effects on poor, urban communities, especially communities of color” (p. 104). The practice of restorative justice offers victims, offenders, and communities an alternative approach for dealing with the harm caused by crime. In contrast to the aforementioned orientation, restorative justice allows a three-dimensional approach that includes the victim, offender, and community (Bazemore, 1999). This trend away from the current criminal justice system (especially in regard to juvenile delinquency) may allow for comprehensive healing and intervention with all parties impacted by a crime. Restorative justice practices thus offer the potential for decreased recidivism of offenders, fewer long-term effects of victimization, and strengthening of the aggregate well-being of a community. Hence, a threedimensional approach to crime benefits all parties involved. Historically, restorative justice has its roots in the indigenous rituals of New Zealand communities where shaming of the offender was used as punishment for wrongdoings. minority Families in society | Volume 90, No. 1 120 communities—including African American, Latino, Canadian mennonite, and Native American—have also engaged in various restorative justice practices for many years. Howard Zehr (2002) has been called the grandfather of the restorative justice movement. He has written extensively on the topic and his book Changing Lenses: A New Focus for Crime and Justice (1990) is considered a classic in the field. In his popular book The Little Book of Restorative Justice (2002), Zehr refers to the three pillars of restorative justice: Restorative justice focuses on crime done to individuals and communities, with the harm to victims, offenders, and the community in need of healing. Wrongs and offenses to victims mean that offenders need to be held accountable and responsible. Restorative justice principles emphasize the importance of victims, offenders, and the community to be involved in a dialogue about what justice means in a particular case. In summarizing Zehr’s work, Bazemore (1999) states, Howard Zehr (1990) describes the restorative justice paradigm as a new “lens” for viewing the problem of crime and a new value system for thinking about the justice response to offense behavior. Rather than the question of guilt and what should be done to punish or treat the offender, restorative justice suggests that the most important fact about crime is that it causes harm to individuals and communities. “Justice” should, therefore, focus on the repair of this harm. (p. 298) Zehr writes of restorative justice from a religious and sociological perspective and is internationally known for helping to establish restorative justice as a social movement. In the field of social work, Katharine van Wormer, who is both a sociologist and a social worker, strongly asserts restorative justice falls under the general rubric of social justice, consistent with the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers (1996). Van Wormer (2002) describes restorative justice as a practice that requires societal institutions to work to repair the damage to those who have been injured and states those most directly affected by crime (including victims and family members) should have the voluntary opportunity to participate in the response to crime. If social work as a profession is concerned about justice and furthering both social and restorative justice, how do social work scholars understand the principles of and engage in the practice of restorative justice, and how do these elements relate to key issues in the social work profession? This study was conducted to answer this question through a systematic review of the social work literature on the topic of restorative justice from 1995–2007. The review is organized to explore the literature on restorative justice in five dimensions: theory, practice, religion and spirituality, research, and social work education.