Although it has many sources, restorative justice began in practice or application, not in theory. Its origins are usually traced to a specific case in 1974 that occurred in Ontario, Canada: an experiment by several people who were frustrated at the inadequacies of the legal approach to justice. In particular, they were concerned that young offenders were not being held accountable for their actions in a meaningful way. They also were concerned that victims and their needs were usually ignored. They also believed that the prevailing understanding of legitimate participants in the justice system was too restrictive. Restorative justice expands the circle of stakeholders — those with a stake or standing in the event or the case — beyond just the government and the offender to include victims and community members also. Today, however, restorative approaches are available for the most severe forms of criminal violence, from death from drunken driving, assault, rape, and murder, even mass violence. These practices are also spreading beyond the criminal justice system to schools, the workplace, and to religious institutions.
 
 
Criminal justice Crime is a violation 
of the law and the state. Violations create guilt. Justice requires the state to determine blame (guilt) and impose pain (punishment). Central focus: Offenders getting what they deserve. Restorative justice Crime is a violation
of people and relationships. Violations create obligations. Justice involves victims, offenders and community members in an effort to put things right. Central focus: Victim’s needs and offender responsibility for repairing harm. Criminal justice What laws have been broken? Who did it? What do they deserve? Restorative justice Who has been hurt? What are their needs? Whose obligations are these? The differences in the two approaches might be boiled down to the three central questions 
asked in the search for justice. Comparison of the principles of 
criminal justice with those of 
restorative justice.
 
Adapted from Little Book of Restorative Justice by Howard Zehr.