Restorative Practices Do Not Work
The Restorative Practices Model Does Not Work
Restorative Practices do not work if society, organizations, academic institutions, carceral institutions and people in power decide that they do not want it to work. In my experience as a Restorative Practices Practitioner over the last 5 years I’ve noticed that Restorative Practices has really catapulted to the forefront of corporate, institutional and organizational agendas and initiatives.
After the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery in the summer of 2020 many people were looking for answers to address what some of us have always known, in this country, there are two alternate realities regarding justice and equity, for its citizens. As a black woman I live in a country in which justice does not include me. Given the circumstances we found ourselves in with the COVID-19 pandemic the murders of 2020 had a captive audience, witnessing with their own eyes a few examples of the everyday experience of Black people. We are dispensable. We are endangered. We are inhuman.
“Who knew?!” was the expression on the faces of many of the protestors breaking the COVID-19 quarantine barrier and taking to the street to join the rally-call, Black Lives Matter. As we look back on this movement that spanned the globe, you have to now wonder if allies who joined us in our plight for this fleeting moment actually agreed with the idea that black lives matter or if they couldn’t bare to be seen as someone who didn’t care about “the other” or if they simply just needed to get out of the house and break the quarantine. Whatever the individual reasons may have been, everyone was in the streets, those of us who have been protesting injustices for centuries and those who had just become aware that these unjust and heinous crimes were happening at all, rallied and march together.
This shock and horror, this urgent and emergent need to “do something” bled into many workplaces and institutions. Now, it made sense in the presence of white fragility to mention and even engage in discussions about systemic racism and oppressive structures that many of our institutions are predicated on and guided by. The efforts that white people in power made to take some steps to repair the harm that has been done to people of color historically and specifically in their work spaces was a welcomed and long awaited response to the diametric, racially disparate experiences of specific groups of people in the workplace.
How do we address the fact that we are all a part of the same citizenry but perceived and dealt with in completely different ways? What is justice and who gets the benefits of it and who does not?” These societal constructs have led to murder with impunity; overt racial disparity and divide in the workplace; segregation within any category that defines and molds our society, power structures and privilege that makes it worth, inhumane treatment of human beings and at it’s most extreme, the genocide of specific groups of people.
During these times of social rest and moral consternation Restorative Practices - indigenous practices that have been reintroduced, revitalized and widely adopted within movement organizations, academic settings and the carceral system within the last 20 years, was the model many leaders chose to implement in order to navigate their communities through these contentious times. Restorative Practices is a paradigm shift. It is the courageous and arduous process of dismantling hierarchical systems that intend to create racial disparities, inequity and division.
The Restorative Practices Integration process becomes reflective and personal for all of its community members. Many people find this process deeply personal and at times triggering. Many find that Restorative Practices is an affront to “everything we as a society know”, “the way things are and should remain”. This work is not written into anyone’s job description. Therefore, as the dismantling process or introduction to the exiting paradigm that is proven to be discriminatory, biased, exclusionary, divisive, etc. A common sentiment heard both passively and aggressively is, “I didn’t sign up for this!” More broadly as we move through the integration process every person who wields privilege and power comes to a place in their own personal journey where they have to answer two primary questions:
How will a shift in power dynamics impact my degree of privilege and therefore my access to power?
What core beliefs do I benefit from that perpetuates inequality and oppressive structures? Is equity for all worth a decrease in my own privilege and the power it garners?
If for some the answers to these questions are, “Yes, equity and liberation for all supersedes my personal privilege and power” then the process continues. This commitment is essential because one will need to be deeply grounded in their commitments and values in the face of intense push-back and personal uncertainty as you lead your community into the great unknown in pursuit of deep and right relationship building; rejection of societal constructs that discard or marginalize those noncompliant with "whiteness", nonconformist or different and creating a space where conflict is seen as an opportunity to strengthen and grow in our humanity versus polarizing and demonizing the other.
Unfortunately, what we are experiencing more often than not within organizations and institutions is a gradual easing back into old structures, self-serving prioritization, and policies and procedures that breed and result in inequitable outcomes. Although discriminatory, oppressive and disparate this is where most are comfortable. Instead of adding these major challenges to one’s existing job duties and maintaining that position, many decision makers and leaders lean into the following default practices that validates their beliefs that restorative practices can not and will not work.
Cherry picking the model
Restorative Practices is a multi-tiered level of support model that functions by building and strengthening relationships as the foundation and creating spaces to heal harm.
Most models need to be implemented with fidelity. If the process is not implemented with fidelity invariably it will not be successful.
Most people try to implement and practice harm circles before doing the work of strengthening the existing relationships within the community. For many these attempts at “restorative practices” causes more harm.
Primarily investing and solely focusing on fixing the “problems”
Behaviors are an expression of deeper issues. Restorative Practices gives us the opportunity to learn about the lived experience of others, practice cultural humility and address the needs of each community member.
Building trust and deepening connections is foundational to the integration process. Without this foundation you can cause more harm in attempting to resolve issues restoratively.
“What are you restoring?”
“What was the depth or nature of the relationship before the breakdown?”
“Are all members committed to being in right relationship with one another?”
“Is balance within the community, with a ALL members present, without discarding, the priority for community members?”
Top down directives versus an inclusive process
Implementation of Restorative Practices cannot be delegated. Leadership introduces, participates, guides and supports the integration process.
The answer to the question, “Who will do the work?” through a Restorative Practices lens, everyone in the community has an important part in the implementation process. There is no shift in culture if all community members are not on board.
Creating new grievances around division of labor in implementation process
Top down directives in most cases puts the majority if not all of the labor on line staff to impact the behavior of coworkers and the people the organization serves. In most cases this creates resentment and harm among staff.
If harm is created by the erroneous implementation of the model, it’s hard to regain the trust of the community members who need to be on board committedly with implementing Restorative Practices.
Alternative to Punitive Discipline versus a Shift in Culture
Restorative Practices is not an alternative to punitive discipline to avoid unfavorable statistics and outcomes within an institution.
Restorative Practices is a shift in culture; the way we do things, the way we intentionally choose to engage with one another; an authentic effort to be an expression of our values; and choosing equity and inclusion in committed practices.
You can proclaim that Restorative Practices do not work but the underlying question should be, “Do you want it to work?”