An Alternative Justice Procedures for Community Conflict Transformation

Autumn Elizabeth
Jul 28, 2017 · 2 min read

By acknowledging that “conflicts are the property of the victim, the offender, and their local community.”(Mccold 1995)[1], the following guidelines for conflict transformation have been created with the goal of “responding to harm by assessing the needs of those harmed and providing a process allowing those harmed and those responsible for the harm to meet the needs created”(Ruth-Heffelbower 2011) with the understanding that the “needs created” may also be needs of the community in addition to needs of directly involved parties .

1. Both/all involved parties must agree to be part of a mediated alternative justice process for conflict transformation.

2. Upon agreement, parties will be invited to a meeting with a mutually agreeable mediator. Should no such mediator be found two mediators may be used.

3. Each party is allowed to discuss the harm that has occurred and vectors of oppression that are experienced generally and during the instance(s) of harm (Nocella 2011).

4. Each party states a proposed set of actions to be completed by the other party. (Bazemore and Umbreit 2001)

5. Both parties discuss these actions until an agreement is reached on the specific actions the parties will take within a given time period to make reparation for the conflict or the source of conflict. (Bazemore and Umbreit 2001)

6. Both parties must document fulfillment of the terms of the agreement to the mediator. (Bazemore and Umbreit 2001)

Works Cited

Bazemore, G., and M. Umbreit. 2001. “A Comparison of Four Restorative Conferencing Models.” Jうvenile Justice Bulletin, no. February: 1–19.

Mccold, Paul. 1995. “RESTORATIVE JUSTICE: THE ROLE OF THE COMMUNITY.”

Nocella, Anthony J. II. 2011. “An Overview of the History and Theory of Transformative Justice Abstract.” Peace & Conflict Review 6 (1): 1–10.

Ruth-Heffelbower, Duane. 2011. “Anarchist Criminology : A New Way to Understand a Set of Proven Practices,” 1–9.

[1] A helpful chart may be found on page 9 of Mccold’s paper.

The Alternative Justices Project

Many of us dream of alternatives to state-sanctioned justice systems that are flawed by power and perpetuate harm. This is our attempt to turn hope into action and dreams into reality. https://www.alternativejustices.com

Autumn Elizabeth

Written by

Writer, Scholar, Outlaw

The Alternative Justices Project

Many of us dream of alternatives to state-sanctioned justice systems that are flawed by power and perpetuate harm. This is our attempt to turn hope into action and dreams into reality. https://www.alternativejustices.com

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