Restorative Justice

Restorative justice focuses on repairing harm and restoring relationships.

Restorative justice seeks to prevent future violence or disruption by finding responses to law-breaking behavior that are proportionate, meaningful, and enforce accountability.

Through our relationships with tribal communities, where many restorative practices originated, the Center for Court Innovation launched peacemaking programs in Red Hook and Syracuse. The Center supports community-led mediation and violence prevention at the Crown Heights Mediation Center, and uses a peer-led and problem-solving approach to youth justice with its youth courts. We are also implementing school-wide restorative justice programs in five Brooklyn public high schools. Our research department will be evaluating the effectiveness of those programs, with a focus on disparities related to race and disability. The Center is committed to testing new restorative approaches to justice and shares lessons learned with jurisdictions around the world.

PBS NewsHour profiles the work of our Restorative Justice in Schools program.

Initiatives

Peacemaking Program

Building on a traditional Native American approach to justice, the Center’s peacemaking programs focus on healing and community restoration rather than punishment.
Restorative Justice in Schools

We've implemented restorative justice programs in five New York City high schools aimed at strengthening relationships school-wide.

Publications & Digital Media

Audio
New Jails to End All Jails?

by Matt Watkins

Like a number of cities across the U.S., New York City is in the midst of a remarkable, often contentious, debate about the future and purpose of its jails. New Thinking host Matt Watkins recently moderated a public discussion of the city’s pledge to replace its notorious Rikers Island jail complex with a series of smaller, modern facilities—located near courthouses, not on an isolated island. It's a shift the mayor says will end the era of mass incarceration in the city.

Addressing Racial Disparities, Diversion, Justice-Involved Women, Restorative Justice
Publication
Making Peace in Syracuse, New York: A Process Evaluation of the Near Westside Peacemaking Project

by Amanda Cissner

Peacemaking is a traditional Native American approach to justice focused on healing and community restoration, rather than punishment. The Near Westside Peacemaking Project brings this practice to one of Syracuse, New York’s most distressed neighborhoods, offering community members a unique approach to addressing an array of community problems. This report describes the 24-month planning period and the first two years of program implementation, including program structure, goals, caseload, and feedback from participants.

Community Justice, Restorative Justice
Audio
Designing Decarceration: Architect Deanna Van Buren

by Matt Watkins

On our New Thinking podcast, the Oakland-based architect explains her firm’s mission to use design to counter incarceration and promote the use of restorative justice. She also discusses her work on our Near Westside Peacemaking Center in Syracuse, N.Y.

Diversion, Restorative Justice

See All Publications and Digital Media →

News

Why We Need to Rethink Misdemeanor Justice

March 12, 2019

We all want safe neighborhoods, argues our Greg Berman in Governing, but the way we treat many people arrested for low-level offenses does more harm than good. Berman offers New York City as a potential model for other jurisdictions looking to reform low-level justice.
Native American Peacemaking in the Courts of New York

November 20, 2018
Law In Action (BBC)

On BBC Radio 4, the well-known British legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg profiles the peacemaking program at our Red Hook Community Justice Center (segment starts at 17:17).
Restorative Justice Programs That Work

September 14, 2018
NationSwell

As part of a feature on approaches to justice "that emphasize communication over incarceration," a profile of our youth court at the Red Hook Community Justice Center.

View Archive →

We work with reformers around the world.

Do you need help solving a problem, launching a new initiative or improving an old one?

Contact Our Experts →