Restorative justice is three-dimensional in its view of crime and focus on the needs of the victims, the community, and the offender.

The restorative process is an effort to find "common ground" between victim, community and offender.

We ask three questions when a crime is committed:
1. What is the harm?
2. What needs to be done to address the harm?
3. Who is responsible for this?

Stakeholders can include families, neighbors, community-based service providers, code enforcement, business leaders, local government, faith community, school community, and law enforcement, as well as the victim and the offender.

Stakeholder Benefits:
The Neighborhood Accountability Board process works because it provides so many benefits to all the stakeholders.

Benefits to the Victim:
» Empowers the victim by allowing him/her to feel a part of the solution
» Allows the victim to present to the offender the personal impact of the offense and express his/her thoughts regarding the offender and/or offense
» Allows the victim to get answers to his/her questions (that only the offender could answer - Why did you do this to me? Could I have prevented it?)
» Provides restitution to the victim (beyond, and not necessarily including, monetary restitution)
» Obtains closure/ even if only partially/ that may bring peace of mind and the feeling that justice has been done
» Allows the victim an opportunity to be seen as a person rather than an object or target
» Provides a framework for the relationship, especially where the victim and offender are part of an interpersonal an on-going relationship or are likely to come into contact with each other in the future
» Allows a sense of satisfaction with the criminal justice system given an increased sense of involvement in the process

Benefits to the Neighborhood:
» Lessens the impact of crime on the neighborhood by increasing restoration of losses
» Reduces the likelihood of recidivism by holding offenders accountable for their actions and presenting them with the impact their actions had on the neighborhood
» Allows the neighborhood to be involved and have an impact on crime in their community
» Allows a sense of justice and satisfaction with the criminal justice system
» Allows involvement from neighborhood residents

Benefits to the Offender:
» Allows the offender to make amends and right the wrong rather than focus only on punishment
» Demonstrates to the offender the actual harm caused and allows the offender to truly understand the consequences of the offense
» Allows the offender an opportunity to learn from his/her mistakes and develop a positive self-worth
» Allows the offender to be seen and treated as a person rather than a criminal
» Provides a framework for the relationship, especially where the victim and offender are part of an interpersonal and on-going relationship or are likely to come into contact with each other in the future

Benefits to the Justice System:
» Allows victims more involvement in the criminal justice system which increases victims satisfaction with the process
» Reduces the time and expense required to process offenses in the traditional adversarial manner
» Reduces court dockets and caseloads of the courts/ police and probation officers making these resources more available for the cases that most need them