Case Study
Serving Crime Victims through Restorative Justice: A Resource Guide for Leaders & Practitioners
Restorative justice is being embraced by many communities internationally as a promising approach to criminal harm and victimization. The growth and development of this field requires ongoing efforts by its advocates to maintain fidelity to its core values and principles. A central principle of restorative justice is to support the involvement and voice of crime victims and survivors in justice. Serving Crime Victims Through Restorative Justice: A Resource Guide for Leaders and Practitioners, written in 2018, is an expression of this commitment by the Alberta Restorative Justice Association and the authors, Just Outcomes.
This guide is based on interviews with crime victims and key stakeholders throughout Alberta, a review of international research examining the role of victims in restorative justice, and the authors’ decades of combined professional experience supporting people in the aftermath of crime through restorative approaches. The publication, researched and written by Just Outcomes Founders Catherine Bargen, Matthew Hartman, and Aaron Lyons along with affiliates Alan Edwards and Jennifer Haslett, describes the central themes of this research and explores in detail how these findings can inform the ways in which restorative justice programs and practices may be shaped with care and attention to the needs of crime victims. The guide is organized in the following broad sections:
- Setting the Context (Introduction, Focus and Language, Methodology, and Interview Findings)
- Literature Review (Defining Restorative Justice, The Principle of Victim-Centeredness, Victims’ Satisfaction with Restorative Justice, Victims’ Justice Needs, and the Search for Best Practices in Restorative Justice)
- Victims and Restorative Justice: A Program and Practitioner Guide (Navigating Restorative Justice with Integrity, Working Restoratively with Victims of Crime)
In addition to the guide itself serving as a primary outcome from this project, Just Outcomes has been informed of the ripple and impact its influence has had on restorative justice practitioners and programs internationally. The guide is a free resource available on our website: Serving Crime Victims Through Restorative Justice.