The Little Book of Restorative Justice

by Howard Zehr

The seminal work on Restorative Justice by one of the founders of the movement, now fully revised and updated.

In a time of bitter differences and deep division, how should we as a society respond to wrongdoing? When a crime occurs or an injustice is done, what needs to happen? What does justice require?

Howard Zehr is the father of Restorative Justice and is known worldwide for his pioneering work in transforming understandings of justice. Here he proposes workable Principles and Practices for making Restorative Justice possible in this revised and updated edition of his bestselling, seminal book on the movement.

Our legal system's approach to justice has some important strengths, but also some deep failings. Victims, offenders, and community members often feel that justice does not adequately meet their needs. Justice professionals—judges, lawyers, prosecutors, probation and parole officers, prison staff—are frustrated with the system's shortcomings, too. Many feel that the process of justice deepens the wounds and conflicts in our society rather than bringing healing and peace.

Restorative Justice, with its emphasis on identifying the justice needs of everyone involved in a crime, is a worldwide movement of growing influence that is helping victims and communities heal, while holding criminals accountable for their actions. This is not a soft-on-crime, feel-good philosophy, but rather a concrete effort to bring justice and healing to everyone involved in a crime.

In The Little Book of Restorative Justice, Zehr first explores how restorative justice is different from criminal justice.

Then, before letting those appealing observations drift out of reach into theoretical space, Zehr presents Restorative Justice Practices.

Zehr undertakes a massive and complex subject and puts it in graspable form, without reducing or trivializing it.

This is a handbook, a vehicle for moving our society toward healing and wholeness. This is a sourcebook, a starting point for handling brokenness with hard work and hope.

This resource is also suitable for academic classes and workshops, for conferences and trainings, as well as for the layperson interested in understanding this innovative and influential movement.

Genres: Nonfiction, Education, Social Justice, Justice, Politics, Psychology, Law

106 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Howard Zehr is an American criminologist, prolific writer and editor, speaker, educator, and photojournalist; widely considered to be a pioneer of the modern concept of restorative justice.

Widely known as “the grandfather of restorative justice,” Zehr began as a practitioner and theorist in restorative justice in the late 1970s at the foundational stage of the field. He has led hundreds of events in more than 25 countries and 35 states, including trainings and consultations on restorative justice, victim-offender conferencing, judicial reform, and other criminal justice matters. His impact has been especially significant in the United States, Brazil, Japan, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Britain, the Ukraine, and New Zealand, a country that has restructured its juvenile justice system into a family-focused, restorative approach.

Zehr was an early advocate of making the needs of victims central to the practice of restorative justice. A core theme in his work is respect for the dignity of all peoples.

Reviews

[Ken Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a law enforcement professional for 25 years I just recently learned about this new concept called Restorative Justice. After doing a few internet searches and learning about its basic premises, I soon learned how Dr. Howard Zehr has been named the "grandfather" of restorative justice. In his book I found that he covered the basic premises quickly and easily, in a manner in which would be most understanding to the criminal justice novice. As an assistant professor in the criminal justice academia world, I intend to make this reading a requirement for my students.

[Hannah Bevis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short read, and a great introduction into the theory of restorative justice. With all the recent talk of defunding the police, this book offers a comprehensive guide on what restorative justice might look like in practice. It's a sliding scale, not a binary movement, and it was so interesting to learn about the foundation of restorative justice and how we can implement it. Will definitely be doing more reading on this topic.

[Simão Cortês · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice short book about the movement that has been trying to create alternatives to our current justice system and to the overuse of prisons in Western countries. I liked the book but it was definitely too short and repetitive. Many of the ideas are quite amazing (although I had already read about them in Angela Davis). I can't say I agree with everything I read in the book but the efforts to redefine crime (as a hurtful action against people and not as an offense against the state), the focus on community healing and the attempt to take into account both the victim's and offender's needs are certainly very important. I just think the book was a little too vague, even if it is a book for lay people. I hope to read more about this in the future.

[Daniel Cabarcas · Rating 4 out of 5]

El libro entrega, desde la perspectiva de uno de los teóricos más relevantes de los estudios de paz, un específico y detallado libro que, por su estructura esquemática y directa, funge mejor como un manual sobre justicia restaurativa que como un ensayo.

Howard Zehr no peca con este libro por querer puntualizar muchos elementos que, en su consideración, han sido malinterpretados a lo largo del mundo por los Estados que han deseado implementar este modelo. En esa medida, el libro no deja mucho lugar a debate frente a los postulados básicos, pues su escritura es muy accesible para cualquier lector.

En últimas, Zehr cumple con lo que dice su título. Una obra teórica corta y clara, perfecta en estas épocas de crisis de los sistemas judiciales. Lectura recomendada.

[Priyanka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always refreshing to read about alternatives to our justice system! A good little book, but at times felt repetitive and really just scrapes the surface of a loaded topic. I was reading this book more for work related purposes, and was seeking information on what an RJ pilot program might look like in the workplace, so from that angle, not super informative, but still a great read to get familiar with the RJ theory!

[Anya]

This really should be required reading (esp for MSW programs)

[Júlia Rodrigues · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

O livro é uma boa introdução à Justiça Restaurativa, contextualizando seu surgimento (tal como conhecemos), definindo o que ela NÃO é, apresentando objetivos e princípios essenciais para sua compreensão. Por isso, me parece ser o melhor ponto de partida pra quem tiver curiosidades quanto ao tema ou interesse em saber um pouco mais sobre alternativas *dentro* do sistema criminal e *ao* sistema.

Acho, inclusive, que um dos pontos altos do livro é justamente a análise comparativa entre a prática retributiva e a restaurativa.

E, para além do direito, acho que me trouxe muitas ideias sobre como tratar situações conflituosas (em âmbito domiciliar, universitário etc.).

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

For what it is - a very brief overview of the concepts and theory of RJ - it is a fantastic read. I appreciated how Zehr talks about restorative justice as a way of life and includes many guidelines for how to live more restoratively. And shout-out to his discussion of what an ideal justice system would look like: viewing justice as a continuum where all points are driven by restorative principles, even when they involve court systems and prisons. His thoughts about lawyers as healers and "conflict-mappers" rather than gladiators were particularly resonant and powerful.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

brief, but good. for a book to fall into the "little book" series, they must be short and gloss over many things...
i appreciated the general overview, and will be reading more on the subject, so this style of book fits for me... but for someone looking for more in depth information about the RJ process, i would say find something else to read.

[Lieva Whitbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview

This little book is a great introduction to restorative justice ideas. I had heard of restorative justice but knew very little about it. Now that I’ve read this I feel like I know what people are talking about when they talk about restorative justice and have a framework to fit other justice-related ideas into.

[Gracie Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very well put together and gives a very clear background and explanation of restorative justice. A great starter book for those curious about the movement.

[Kolby Golliher · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. It's a little repetitive yet still a super helpful introduction to RJ theory and practices

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, short read and primer to restorative justice. It does not claim to be comprehensive and knows its own limitations.

[Lino Matteo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Little book of Restorative Justice: An Overview

This book is a classic work on restorative justice by Howard Zehr a modern founder of the movement. This is the revised 2015 with 106 pages. Some say that this is “the seminal work on Restorative Justice” by a founder of the movement. I don’t know about that, but do know that the book is impactful, insightful and makes you think. What more could you ask for?

This post is the 2nd installment in our Restorative Justice Week reflection and sharing. Here is the first: Restorative Justice: An Introduction
A summary of that post would be : Restorative Justice is not the easy way. It requires effort, it requires commitment but it can lead to wondrous results. Restorative Justice is built upon the belief that:
• Those who have caused harm have a responsibility to help repair that harm;
• Those who have been harmed are central in addressing what is needed to repair the harm;
• Communities have a role to play in supporting victims as well as offenders, and have a responsibility in addressing the root causes of the harm.
The focus is on:
• The harm done to victims and the needs of the victims as a result of that harm;
• The needs and responsibilities of offenders;
• The needs and responsibilities of the community
The goals are to:
1. Repair harm;
2. Encourage accountability;
3. Building understanding by fostering meaningful communication;
Provide opportunities for the healing and reintegration of all involved. Restorative Justice provides an alternative framework for thinking about wrongdoing.
One of my concerns with Restorative Justice (RJ) is how do we stop the apathy and bureaucrats from creeping in? How do we keep it community based? How do we keep the caring and commitment that are necessary for the successes that are possible?
Our current prison system is an example of the waste and apathy that can occur with the machine that bureaucracies can and by their nature do create. Restorative Justice is not necessarily an alternative to prison but our reliance on prisons could, would and should be reduced and the nature of prisons would also change significantly. That does not mean that Restorative Justice would entirely replace sentences but it could often be used in conjunction with, or parallel to, prison sentences.
This is particularly true in light that Restorative Justice is not limited to ‘minor’ offenses or first-time offenders. Rather RJ can be tailored to respond to very difficult situations.
The book rightly points out that due to the legal definition of crime and the nature of the criminal justice system, the following four types of needs seem to be especially neglected:
1. Information – those who have experienced harm need answers to questions they have about the offence or the offender…they need real information, not speculation or the legally constrained information that comes from a trial or plea agreement
2. Truth-telling: …transcendence of these experiences means “restorying” our lives by telling the stories in significant settings
3. Empowerment: People who have been victimized often feel like control has been taken away from them by the offences they’ve experienced – control over their properties, their bodies, their emotions, their dreams.
4. Restitution or vindication: …because of the symbolic recognition restitution implies. “I’m taking responsibility, and you are not to blame.”

The current adversarial system that we employ is more concerned with admitting nothing, making a deal and next. It sucks.
The needs of the community are often overlooked or paid scant lip service currently. Communities argue that when the state takes over in our name, it undermines our sense of community and the responsibility and respectability that that entails. This is important. When communities do not understand, they cannot get past the anger and to the understanding that is necessary for acceptance.
Restorative Justice focuses on harm and not statues. That is an important mind shift. Harm gives rise to obligations. Obligations are not fulfilled with some arbitrary time sentence. That is punishment, not restoration.
Restorative Justice requires respect. In fact it is an underlying characteristic. It is justice that attempts to fix. Respect without communication, dialogue and some understanding is impossibility. But that is what the current adversarial system preaches.
Restorative Justice should be viewed as an achievable and realistic goal. Not as some lofty concept for tomorrow, a tomorrow that is always put off. I suggest that we use a WARM approach to RJ:
• Written
• Acknowledging
• Restorative
• Meaningful and Measurable

Justice should be viewed as a continuum with a stated goal of being as restorative as possible. Western criminal justice system is intended to promote important positive values – recognition of the rights of others while this is to be commended. However the adversarial nature of the system removes the “Three R’s”: respect, responsibility and relationship – humans are wired to want to be social beings. It is part of our makeup. When we disrupt that social net we fall further and deeper into the jungle – be it concrete or bureaucratic.

True justice requires, instead, that we ask questions such as these:
• Who has been hurt?
• What do they need?
• Whose obligations and responsibilities are these?
• Who has a stake in the situation?
• What are the causes that have contributed to this?
• What is the process that can involve stakeholders in finding a solution? (page 80).

Restorative Justice requires us to change not just our approach, our questions, our thinking and our goals. It is not easy but it is doable.

Lino Matteo ©™





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[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction to what restorative justice is, but I found it slightly repetitive in some instances and needed some clarification on other portions, but it’s also a short book so I understand why it isn’t thoroughly flushed out as it could be overall I enjoyed.

[Hannah Vickery · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent overview to lay a foundation of understanding what Restorative Justice is and stirring the imagination for what it could be.

[Gabrielle Jarrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Howard Zehr's book is a compact exploration of the restorative justice process and movement - which New Zealand, South Korea, and parts of Canada are already using very successfully. Restorative justice is an alternative to criminal justice and punishment. (Upon which the Abrahamic traditions and religious thrive.) Yes, it is ideal. Yes, it is valuing all humans - victims, offenders, their families and communities. Yes, very worth reading.

[Amandine · Rating 3 out of 5]

What the title says- a short, concise, overview of the movement with some appreciated caveats and noted limitations. Useful as a quick fly over!

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

read bits n pieces for class, very eye-opening but easy to understand.

[brenna]

read for class!!

[Trevor Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of the main tenants of restorative justice. A handful of specific examples are provided but not many.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Restorative justice intro

Meh. Kinda light on firm details. Would like more info on how it actually works like a case study or a dialogue.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book is little, it provides a broad introduction to the concept of restorative justice. The author acknowledges what restorative justice is not, but he also focuses on the historical context and contemporary application of restorative practices. He highlights key values, questions, and principles that must be utilized.

So what is restorative justice according to this author?:

“Restorative justice is more focused on needs: the needs of those harmed, of those causing harm, and of the communities in which these situations arise.”

Restorative justice places enormous value on relationships and interconnectedness. “...damaged relationships are both a cause and effect of crime. Many traditions have a saying that a harm to one is a harm to all.”

“Restorative justice encourages outcomes that promote responsibility, reparation, and healing for all.”

“If I had to put restorative justice into one word, I would choose respect: respect for all- even those who are different from us, even those who seem to be our enemies. Respect reminds of our interconnectedness but also of our differences.”

Finally, understanding of restorative justice means we must first define “justice.” Justice must always be considered within cultural contexts and often depends on the situation; however, the author simplifies it to this:

“But what does justice require? As we have seen, western society’s answer has focused on making sure those who have offended get what they deserve. Restorative justice answers differently, focusing first of all on needs and associated obligations.”

[M. Ainomugisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short handbook on restorative justice carefully outlines the interconnectedness of accountability and how embedded we all are in relationships that could potentially contain or enable abuse.

A clearly seminal book on the movement, it advises greatly on community healing techniques that acknowledge the needs of the victims first and address obligations to repair harm done to them by their offenders. There’s great emphasis on relevant stakeholders and the use of surrogates to invite all parties to better understand perspectives and attain an inclusive, collaborative and consensual outcome that promotes responsibility, reparation and healing for all.

The guidebook also dives into why justice processes have to be context-appropriate and gives us global examples where restorative justice principles have been used to transform harm and how they respectively vary in their models to address such concerns.

Altogether, we receive great definition and direction work here. We leave understanding restorative justice as an alternative framework by which to think about harm done and accountability for said harm.

As a Black feminist, it’s integral to my politics to further understand harm & arrive at a holistic approach to resolve wrongdoings, to allow for restitution and positive reintegration into society.

Wonderful manual for all who are looking up the same.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this as suggested reading in conjunction with subject matter from a previous book, though I forget which one it was. Restorative justice is definitely a 180 from the current system utilized by the United States. At first, while reading it, I was thinking to myself that it seemed a lot like communism. Great in theory but impossible to apply to real people and real life. However, after tossing aside my secular lens and putting on my Christian-colored glasses, I began to realize that restorative justice mirrors Christ and His teaching much more so than our current justice system.

Jesus spoke out against eye-for-eye vengeful retaliation often cited from Mosaic Law. He spoke about loving your enemies. I have a feeling that if Jesus were to have arrived in the current day US, He would be speaking out against our vindictive approach to justice today. Furthermore, the consideration of community that restorative justice takes is also something I will have to ponder on and research more.

The book a brief synopsis of restorative justice so the text itself wasn't spectacular but I do think that this approach to introducing an audience to a nuanced and complex topic is one with merit.

[Erika RS · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short book (less than 100 pages, with back matter) provides a high level overview of restorative justice. Restorative justice, at it's heart, is about respect. More functionally, while noting that no single definition can capture a field with the diversity of restorative justice, Zehr offers a working definition, "Restorative justice is a process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific offense and to collectively identify and address harms, needs, and obligations, in order to heal and put things as right as possible.

What this book focuses on is the background and philosophy that goes into that definition. It does not aim to discuss the applications and practices of restorative justice except in so far as they are valuable for illustrating the general idea.

As such, I recommend this book for someone (like myself), who has heard enough about restorative justice to be interested in the idea but does not have much background information or a need for practical advice in the area.

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty cool. I appreciated how short and straightforward it was.

My favourite part was on the last few pages where the author examines restorative justice not only as a framework to deal with crime, but also as a way of life: It is based on the assumption - a reminder for those of us living in an individualistic world - that we are all interconnected.

Overall, I learnt that restorative justice is about healing, dialogue, connection, accountability, relationships, and respect.

Another part I liked is when Howard Zehr compared empathy in the current legal system vs in a restorative justice approach. He mentioned that restorative justice encourages those who have harmed others to empathize with those who have been harmed. However, the adversarial side 'requires them to look out for themselves... the risk of lengthy prison sentences acts as a disincentive to truth telling.'

Also I liked the mention of CoSA for sex offenders. I actually kinda wish there was more examples of different restorative justice approaches and how they worked out.

[Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am no stranger to restorative justice, and this book was a fantastic overview of the entire topic. Howard Zehr does a fantastic job at outlining key elements of restorative justice in a way that is approachable for all sort of audiences. I appreciate how Zehr is aware of the limitations of both criminal justice and restorative justice, and he never tries to push any of his ideas down readers' throats.

I docked one star because I found Zehr's style to be slightly repetitive in nature. While the repetition put needed emphasis on important elements of restorative justice, I would have appreciated these ideas being presented in slightly different ways to add some variation to the text.

This is an incredibly valuable resource for those interested in learning about restorative justice, or for those curious about alternative practices to our current criminal justice system. I highly recommend this book as a starting place for all things restorative justice, as well as a helpful tool to gain insight into more effective methods of justice.

[Friska Titi Nova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Restorative justice requires us to change not just our lenses but our questions. If people in common would ask: What laws have been broken? Who did it? What do they deserve?
Restorative justice must start with victims. It evolves with these questions:
- Who has been hurt?
- What do they need?
- Whose obligations and responsibilities are these?
- Who has a stake in this situation?
- What is the process that can involve the stakeholders in finding a solution?
Restorative justice will meet up the victim and the offender. The victim / the family would be able to speak and tell the damage the offender has done. The offender has the chance to take his/her responsibility and admit his/her fault. Meanwhile, the society support and create a safe place for the offender once he has released from the prison.
We thought this is impossible but New Zealand has done this for years, inspired from what the Maori's community has done to set up the problems between them.

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Restorative justice focuses on needs more than deserts"

"Restorative justice seeks to make things right, balances concern of all"

"Restorative justice is respect"

Little book of restorative justice is a good way to approach this wide topic of an alternative justice system that in the Western world is pretty unknown, while very spread in New Zealand and Australia. The author describes in a very synthetic and easy way the main features of a restorative system, usually backed by clear examples. Of course the restorative system is controversial, complex and has hundreds of facets that this "little" book, obviously cannot tackle in just 80 pages.
I recommend this book for all of you that would like to know more about this subject and as a fundamental starting point to deeply understand the restorative justice programmes.

If you liked this book I reccomend: Restorative justice and responsive regulation by John Braithwaite