Our model comes from Dr. Lauren Abramson, founder of Community Transformations and the Community Conferencing Center of Baltimore (now Restorative Response Baltimore). The process, rooted in indigenous teachings and practices, is based on the idea that people and communities have the capacity to resolve their own conflicts.

Traditional Legal System Asks

            What law was broken?

            Who broke the law?

            What do they deserve?

This model has been successfully used in Baltimore for 20 years. 22,000 people have participated in RRB since 2001; most were youth and 97% were people of color. Over 95% of participants came up with an agreement about how to address the problem and 93% of those agreements were completed, thus diverting the participants from the criminal legal system. The re-offending rates of those who completed agreements were 60% lower than similar cases that went through the legal system.