Shifting Focus: Proposing a Preventative Restorative Justice Model.

• In Event: Restorative Justice

Abstract

The transformative goal of restorative justice has been put under a microscope when looking at the experiences of racialized immigrant youth. Research supports the claim that racialized and/or immigrant youth do not experience the benefits of restorative justice programs in the same manner as other youth. A goal of RJ is to restore broken bonds that occurred after offending; however, in the case of racialized and/or immigrant youth, the argument has been made that these bonds were never present, therefore not insulating these youth from engaging in behaviours that may be deemed as threatening by the larger society. This paper begins with the premise argued by Critical Race Theory, that racism is ordinary in North American societies. It then suggests that rather than focus on restoring broken bonds after youth offending, the focus should be on building bonds between racialized and/or immigrant youth and their community prior to offending. This perspective uses the benefits of a restorative justice model, but shifts the focus onto the community to prevent youth offending through community transformation. This paper presents data collected in Alberta, Canada to recommend a model for transformative RJ which functions as a preventative strategy for youth offending.

Author

• Monetta Bailey, Ambrose University