It's great to see more and more TedX talks tackling issues of restorative practices from a variety of perspectives. Here's a recent talk given by Symeon Brown at TedX Southwark in the UK. According to his bio, "Symeon has worked at the Howard League for Penal Reform with young men and women in custody, founded a grassroots youth project HYPE and was the senior researcher of the Guardian and London School of Economics investigation into the England riots."
Symeon begins his talk by looking at crime in terms of Saturday morning comics (which everyone loves!) but then turns to the topic of "Who are the real bad guys in Britain's jails?" He says that the vast majority are children, mentally ill and people who were formerly in the "carer" or social welfare system.
Symeon argues that we need "a new way to think and do justice." He says, "Punishment is at the heart of the current system," but he believes this emphasis perpetuates injustice. Instead he argues for a system that would look at the causes of crime, address the harm caused and provide a goal of healing. In essence, he argues for restorative justice.
Watch Symeon Brown at TedX Southwark, "Who are the bad guys in Britain?"
