It is my belief that Hawaii is well on the path to a new paradigm of criminal justice. Many of the innovative programs already operational and demonstrably successful are based on the concept of "restorative justice."
But restorative justice is not just a set of new programs or short-term projects. It is a new way of thinking about crime, the community and working together for the future.
Restorative justice requires that the three primary societal components affected by crime - the victim, the offender and the community - change how we respond to violence and how we remedy injustice.
A crime affects both the individual victim and the community as a whole - it is not simply a violation against the state. Thus, restorative justice involves the community as much as possible and the adjudicative forum may be community boards.
The total community is involved with preventive and responsive programs, as the community is accountable for the conditions which may exist which practically and potentially contribute to crime.
Community involvement is vital because the community has the power to motivate its members to take responsibility for each other. The community must support victims of crime, but it must also reintegrate the offender back into the community.
In doing so, the community must direct its efforts to promote rehabilitation and restoration of the offender. When the community dwells on the evil that was committed and focuses on the crime and punishment, offenders are encouraged to focus on themselves as victims of the system instead of focusing on the harm they caused.
However, for the offender to be meaningfully reintegrated into the community, the community and the victim must believe that the offender has atoned for his/her transgressions and has thus earned acceptance back into society. This is a fundamental shift in point-of-view from state-based to victim/community-based evaluation of just sanction against offenders.
Therefore, as part of any sanction process, the loss suffered by a victim must be recognized. Through this process, victims are made aware that people care about what happened to them and desire a response that will address their needs.
In Hawaii, a bill of rights for victims and witnesses is codified in Section 801D-4 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes. Victim impact statements are made part of the presentence diagnosis and report for sentencing purposes.
These sessions allow the victim and offender to work out a plan where the offender is held directly accountable to the victim. Restorative justice reduces anger and enables the victim and the community to heal. The offender acknowledges the harm caused, takes responsibility and makes amends.
By repairing the harm caused, the offender thereby responds to a victim's need for restoration. In many cases, restitution is the remedy agreed upon and punishment is no longer a victim's primary goal.
Most important, criminal behavior is reduced by the participating offender's own willing conclusion that personal harm against an individual is caused, not just a crime against a faceless state.
Examples of the highly successful treatment/rehabilitation programs oriented toward offender restoration in Hawaii are the Drug Court Program, Project KASHBOX, the Sex Offender Treatment Program, and anger management programs. All of these programs recognize the fact that criminal offenders have thinking errors which must be addressed.
Moreover, the Neighborhood Justice Center administers juvenile-offender mediation programs.
Essentially, restorative justice requires us to restructure our priorities. We must have a sense of hope, rather than a sense of cynicism or despair. We must assist offenders to rise above their past behaviors. We must care about victims who need the emotional support to heal. We must be a community that bonds with each other to improve conditions so that all prosper in a safe and secure environment.
As the Minneapolis Star-Tribune said about restorative justice, "This vision of justice isn't just about saving money or averting prison construction - and it's certainly not about being soft on crime. It's about making things right instead of lamenting what's wrong, cultivating strength rather than perpetuating failure."