About Restorative Justice: How It Differs from Criminal Justice

• Restorative justice views crime as a violation of people and relationships.
Criminal Justice views crime as a violation of the law and the state.

• In the restorative justice system, violations create obligations to repair the harm.
In the criminal justice system, violations create guilt.

• In the restorative justice system, justice includes the victims, the offenders, and the community members in an effort to put things right.
In the criminal justice system, justice requires the state to determine blame.

• The central focus of restorative justice is on the victims’ needs and having the offender take responsibility for repairing the harm that they caused.
The central focus of criminal justice is retributive.