Restorative Justice Principles

• Crime is injury.
• Crime hurts individual victims, communities, and offenders and creates an obligation to make things right.
• All parties should be a part of the response to the crime, including the victim if he or she wishes, the community, and the offender.
• The victim's perspective is central to deciding how to repair the harm caused by the crime.
• Accountability for the offender means accepting responsibility and acting to repair the harm done.
• The community is responsible for the well-being of all its members, including both victim and offender.
• All human beings have dignity and worth.
• Restoration -- repairing the harm and rebuilding relationships in the community -- is the primary goal of restorative justice.
• Results are measured by how much repair was done rather than by how much punishment was inflicted.
• Crime control cannot be achieved without active involvement of the community.