June 2002 Edition
Restorative Justice Service in Christchurch
In New Zealand, restorative justice has received much grassroots support with the creation of community-based services. The Restorative Justice Service (RJS) of Christchurch is one such community initiative providing conferencing services. RJS began accepting referrals in 1998 and runs parallel to the criminal justice system. It seeks to preserve this independence in order to maintain its integrity with police, lawyers, and judges.
New Project Aims to Educate Churches About Restorative Justice.
Continuing the tradition of calling the church take action on social issues, the Southern Baptist Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) will launch Project Help: Restorative Justice in June 2002. Taking as its theme “Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly”, the Project Help national task force has identified different ways that churches can provide services to those affected by crime and developed several ministry resources.
Website of the Month: Crime Victims for a Just Society
Crime Victims for a Just Society is an advocacy and training group in Mason, Michigan that seeks to train community groups on their role of working with the justice system. Crime Victims for a Just Society provides information and expertise in restorative justice through a public-health model of outreach, education, and training.
Book Review: Restorative Justice and Civil Society
In 1999 the Restorative Justice Group in the Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University, conducted a conference on restorative justice. The purpose of the conference was to shift the debate about restorative justice away from which part of the state would “control” restorative justice to the question of control either by institutions of civil society (e.g., schools, families, private workplaces, churches) or by institutions of the state (e.g., the police, courts, juvenile justice).
Leading Edge. Meet Elmar Weitekamp
Elmar Weitekamp is a restorative justice pioneer in Germany.
Recent Changes to Restorative Justice Online
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