Restorative Justice is an ancient, traditional process that indigenous people used to solve many kinds of problems in their communitites. The basic concept is that a crime tears the fabric of community, and that the community itself must work with the offender and the victim to repair that fabric. This will restore wholeness to the community, to the victim and to the offender. Restorative Justice practices were gradually replaced by the adoption of the Criminal Justice system, with its focus on punishment (retribution) of the offender.

During the past 40 years, Restorative Justice (RJ) has again come to the attention of the community, starting with the discovery by the Canadian Mennonite community of RJ customs in some First Nation communities, particularly in the Yukon. Minnesota is now considered to be among the leaders U.S. states in using RJ practices.

The Dispute Resolution Center has been involved in RJ for over a decade. DRC engages in two types of restorative methods: (1) Victim/Offender Conferencing and (2) Community Circles. Stephanie Erickson is our newly appointed Director of Restorative Justice.

~Delane Welsch
DRC Board Member and Restorative Justice Facilitator