In Lincoln, Nebraska, young offenders learn how to install replacement windows in burglarized homes. They listen as victims describe the pain the burglary caused them, and they glimpse the importance of contributing in a positive way to their community. This is restorative justice.

Restorative justice stresses that crime harms individuals and communities rather than the state. Those affected by crime-victims, community members, and offenders-are encouraged to play a role in the justice process. Rather than just punish the offender, the goal is to repair the emotional damage done by the crime.

Restorative justice programs first popped up in the United States during the 1970s, most of them involving mediation between victim and offender. Now there are more than 400 of these mediation programs. Restorative justice can also involve offenders performing community service or paying financial restitution, generally in addition to counseling or education. Some programs are a part of the court system; others are operated by nonprofit organizations and serve clients referred by the courts.

Restorative justice is widely used in New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. In some parts of Africa and in Native American communities disputes are settled in traditional ways that often embody the principles of restorative justice. In researching African practices, Morris Jenkins, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Toledo, found that disputes are often mediated by elders or village chiefs, rather than by officers of the law. Also, because African definitions of family typically include people who are not blood relatives, calling a family together for mediation can mean much of the community is present.

"This philosophy is not a new concept, but one we've forgotten," says Dale R. Landry, one of the first African Americans to champion this approach to crime. Chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee of the Tallahassee Branch of the NAACP, Landry observes, "As a kid, when I broke a window next door, my grandmother took me over there to apologize. I had to find a way to pay for the window-collect bottles or mow the grass. Restorative justice is a return to the values of our grandmothers."