Unpacking the Framework: How to Use Reconciliation to Repair Institutional Harm

Paul Smith, Rachel Teicher, and Danneile Davis of the National Network for Safe Communities (NNSC), an internationally recognized action research center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, discussed the need for and importance of using reconciliation, a method of facilitating frank engagements between harmed communities, authorities, and other institutions to address grievances, misconceptions, and historical tensions, and reset relationships. NNSC focused on how to use this framework to acknowledge and repair institutional harm between law enforcement and survivors of intimate partner violence, and how Family Justice/Multi-Agency Centers utilizing a co-located service model can use this framework to strengthen and repair relationships and collaboration between law enforcement and onsite partners and the community. 

Keywords: Framework, Reconciliation, Institutional