An Exploration of Restorative Justice Practices in British Columbia, Canada

• In Event: Roundtable: International Crime

Abstract

I am conducting a comparative analysis of United States/Native American and Canadian/Indigenous Peoples’ ideas of justice; broadly defined. Through an examination of incarceration rates, government and community programs I explore the laws, policies, and procedures which impact criminal justice systems, processes, and people.
I will employ a modified version of Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM), as developed in The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). Examining the relationship between theory and data; simultaneously, builds a theory which discovers and unveils basic social and structural processes. Traditional GTM does not employ existing theories or research questions, but maintains data sensitivity. GTM approaches the data by allowing the natural social organization of the substantive life to emerge. Essentially, the study explores the confluence of identity, Native sovereignty and governmental forms of crime and justice in both Native and non-Native communities.
Additionally, I will engage in a critical examination of First Nations cultural attitudes and established processes relative to crime and justice, and their possible application in the U.S. system in terms of policing, courts, sentencing, parole boards, therapeutic jurisprudence, healing circles, and other relevant activities.

Author

• Roy F. Janisch, Pittsburg State University