Researchers have found the use of dialogue, collaboration and mutual respect works better than punishment-based discipline for children with behavioral problems.
Zero tolerance models are based on immediate punishment for anti-social behavior. Restorative justice models take into account “the needs of the multiple actors involved in a disciplinary proceeding (and) the multiple levels of harm caused by violence,” according to Introduction: Punitive Zero Tolerance Policies…and negative outcomes associated with them.
The working paper also compares the economic cost of zero tolerance verses restorative justice to demonstrate how future crime, drug involvement, and high school dropout rates would affect criminal justice spending.
States spent about “$5.7 billion to imprison 64,558 youth committed to residential facilities,” costing states on average “$240.99 per day—around $88,000 a year—for every youth in a juvenile facility,” the research shows.
The estimated value of saving a high-risk youth from a life of crime range from $2.6-$5.3 million if the youth can be saved by age 18.
Future crime, drug involvement, and high school dropout were used in analyzing the cost savings. The research suggests that policymakers should “be extremely critical of school discipline policies that impede” a youth’s academic potential and criminalizes their behavior.
The research shows that restorative justice focuses on accountability, reintegration and inclusion (instead of exclusion and exiling), community building, and the building of problem-solving skills. It is particularly beneficial for schools because it allows for the development of a safe, collaborative, and positive environment in which students are more likely to strive.
A study conducted by the Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law reported very positive results surrounding the implementation of a restorative justice program at Cole Middle School in West Oakland, Calif.
Although the school was closed due to declining enrollment only two years after the implementation of the program, the report found that the average suspension rate at the school dropped from 50 suspensions per 100 students to only six suspensions per 100 students on average for the two years after the program was implemented.
Students also reported strong positive feedback on how the program helped to reduce problematic behavior such as fighting and helped build relationships with other students.
For more on the report, see: http:ssrn.com/abstract=2107240
