Restorative justice starts with the conviction that confronting crime or other conflict does not mean merely punishing people for breaking the rules. Rather, restorative justice means that we must address harms to specific human relationships and the broader community. It requires that we recognize what those harms are, understand their causes and effects, and identify the needs and obligations of victims, offenders, and the broader community. A just response to crime is complex and requires insights from multiple ways of looking at the world.
Calvin University is committed to using restorative justice as our guide for engaging with the topic of criminal justice. You can explore some of our efforts on this site.