The Marin County Restorative Justice Program is a victim-offender dialogue program administered by the Probation Department.
How is restorative justice defined?
"Restorative justice is a process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific offence and to collectively identify and address harms, needs and obligations, in order to heal and put things as right as possible." Howard Zehr, practitioner and theorist on restorative justice.
According to criminologist John Braithwaite, restorative justice is:
"...a process where all stakeholders affected by an injustice have an opportunity to discuss how they have been affected by the injustice and to decide what should be done to repair the harm. With crime, restorative justice is about the idea that because crime hurts, justice should heal. It follows that conversations with those who have been hurt and with those who have inflicted the harm must be central to the process".
What does our restorative justice program try to do?
Our program offers all parties involved and affected by a crime an opportunity to participate in a restorative justice process. It is an invitation for each participant affected to speak and be heard while providing all parties a safe space to ask questions, share their experience and receive information and support. It allows those who have done wrong to accept their responsibility and take steps to repair the harm in a meaningful way to the person who has been harmed. Participation is voluntary and the process is confidential.
Benefits of a restorative justice approach
Restorative Justice Program FAQs
Restorative Justice Brochure