Small Communities See Success With Restorative Justice Programs
Programs which aim to bring healing between victims and those accused of wrongdoing by facilitating a discourse, can be especially effective in smaller communities, where there's less red tape in the way.
Landwebs
Restorative justice programs, which aim to bring healing between victims and those accused of wrongdoing by facilitating a discourse, can be especially effective in smaller communities, reports Bloomberg News. In smaller communities, for example, the victim and accused are more likely to interact again. Mending the harm will likely provide long-term benefits to the community. In addition, some smaller jurisdictions have significantly less bureaucracy, allowing them to establish a restorative justice program more quickly and efficiently.
In 2020, the Office of the District Attorney in Cumberland County, Maine, launched its first restorative justice program accepting cases involving assault, minor property crimes, driving offenses and theft for both juveniles and adults. So far, over 350 participants have taken part in the restorative justice program in Cumberland County with an over 95 percent success rate. A group of district attorneys have published a guide, Restorative Justice: A Best Practice Guide for Prosecutors in Smaller Jurisdictions, which presents restorative justice as a practical option for prosecutors within smaller jurisdictions and provides a blueprint for developing their own restorative justice programs.
