ABSTRACT
The relationship among race, crime, and community is complex and multiform. The prosecution and defense of crime may take on an implicit or explicit community dimension as well. This chapter reviews the origins and ideology of restorative justice, including what it hopes to accomplish and its purported advantages over the current system. It provides an internal assessment that evaluates the new approach on its own terms, followed by an external critique that examines it in light of broader values. The chapter also reviews some of the deficiencies in system, particularly for disadvantaged, minority, and young offenders. It offers suggestions for strengthening community bonds while dealing fairly and consistently with those who have breached them. Victim-Offender Mediation will frequently lead to a restitution agreement that includes service to “the community”. The defense bar should attempt to counteract the powerfully conservative, status-quo-enforcing thrust of restorative justice by insisting that community and religious groups reform it.
