Restorative v. Retributive: The Search for Effective Violence Prevention in Chicago

Today in the city of Chicago, there are many violence prevention organizations. My qualitative research, gathered through key informant interviews, allows me to categorize these organizations into two groups, retributive and restorative, to analyze their respective success. While retributive organizations may appear to succeed in the short term, their methods compound problems of violence, rendering their results antithetical to their mission. In comparison, restorative organizations align in a process centered on reducing violence by helping the individual. I recommend that traditionally retributive organizations adopt characteristics of restorative organizations in order to better prevent violence in Chicago both in the short-term and in the long-term.