Example Of Restorative Justice

Restorative Justice, according to Google, is a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. It does not have a place in our society for several reasons. It is ineffective because it doesn’t punish people, doesn’t change them, and makes the situation even worse in most cases.

Some may see restorative justice as good and bad. It is good because the victim and offender can both express what they are feeling about the crime that was done. But it could also be bad because talking about the event brings back memories to the victim and may make them angrier rather than feeling justified. The offender also may not even be sincere with their apology they’re probably just telling the victim what they want to hear. Most of the cases that I have read and watched about restorative justice were beneficial to the victims.

While The Little Book of Restorative Justice for Colleges and Universities has many merits it also posses some off-putting weaknesses. Karp opens his work up for criticism and makes it less likely to be accepted or seen as a serious alternative to the traditional disciplinary systems with the inclusion of frivolous illustrations and talks of the spiritual. The Little Book also lacks much evidence outside of personal testimony or the authors own reasoning —while that can be strong evidence, empirical evidence have a place in this discussion.

Restorative justice is based on the principle that criminal behavior injures not only the victim but also the community and the offender, and any effort to resolve these problems caused by criminal behavior should involve all of these parties. Common restorative justice initiatives are victim-offender mediation, circle sentencing, community holistic healing programs, and family group conferences. A key to all these responses to criminal behavior is to address not only the offender, but all parties involved including the victim and their families, offender's family, community citizens, and even the police officers themselves.

Restorative justice is a very complex process in the justice system. It is a positive program that helps in the aid of victims of crimes. The process for restorative justice is broken down into steps which map out how the process should take place. According to Johnstone, “Restorative justice is the theory that justice aids the victim and emphasizes the repair of harm caused by unjust or harmful behavior.” In my opinion the restorative justice process is a great accomplishment to the justice system. Restorative justice does not always work as intended but the theory of which it is intended for is enough to be improved upon.

Restorative Justice was created in effort to repare the victim of a crime (emotionally and mentally), along with restoring the criminals view and attitude towards the public/community. It is based off the Christian belief of forgiving, and working things out with the one who has done you wrong. Restorative Justice has the community focus on the victim, and takes the criminals attention away from his/her punishment. This justice system works “through a process of negotiation, meditation, victim empowerment, and reparation” (“Restorative Justice”). Restorative Justice is often used in elementary schools. For example, if a kid picked on you, you were sent into the hallway to talk through it with them. This is Restorative Justice. This justice

Restorative justice is a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. This criminal justice system that restores promotes accountability between parties involved and builds the community through the provision of assistance and respects to victims and anyone involved in the community because crime disrupts lives.

Take “Viv’s Story”. She and her husband were robbed by a kid named Jack. Instead of taking Jack to court, the wanted to take him through Circle Justice. She realized that Jack was just a product of his environment and that he meant no harm. He now works in the kitchens of a homeless shelter. She said about the experience, “ Restorative justice was the right way for us to help Jack see what he'd done and to steer him in a better direction.” There is also Cole's story in Touching Spirit Bear. Cole had intense anger that he could not control. Through it, he committed assault against a boy named Peter. His punishment, given by Restorative justice, was yearlong banishment to a remote island off the coast of Alaska Through Restorative justice , he learned where his anger came from and how to cope with it, something that could never be done in

Part of this is having victim-offender conferences, to work on the relationship between the two individuals: the victim and offender. It is a way for the offender to be able to try to right what he or she has wronged. I like the idea of this because I know at a time when I was victimized, I wanted nothing more than to be face to face with the man that victimized me, and ask him why he did what he did. I wanted an answer, and I wanted an apology. I assume that I am not the only person that feels this way. I think that I would have been more likely to forgive him had I had that face-to-face conversation with a mediator. To be completely honest, I do not think I have forgiven him yet, and I think it is because I never got the closure that is possible within this

Throughout this paper, various articles will be discussed in further detail on the issue of restorative justice within the criminal justice system in the United States. Both benefits and disadvantages of restorative justice will be analyzed, in order to have a greater understanding of the alternative justice program, and to remove any preconceived ideas unsubstantiated by facts. Focus will be on topics such as what restorative justice is, followed by how it reduces the number of suspensions and disciplinary actions required by schools to manage offenders. These programs in schools give students various life skills needed to solve and manage problems rather than resorting to violence and crime. It will also be noted how there are those who dispute that restorative justice as a powerless alternative in which change is never achieved. Additionally, successful programs currently in place will be examined, which will shed light on both sides of the spectrum, to allow one to make an educated decision on whether or not the program is an effective and necessary one or not.

Within the system of criminal justice, the restorative justice conferences allow the offenders, victims and their respective family members and friends to come together to explore how those involved in the incident had been affected and, when possible, to decide how to repair the harm and meet their own needs. A victim can request a restorative justice approach to help an offender comprehend and understand how the crime has affected their life, and/or other people's lives in the process, to gain information, helping put the crime behind them and aiming to come to terms/forget their experience and personal ordeal and to openly forgive the offender for their actions. Restorative Justice also aids offenders, with trials within the United Kingdom

Circle, is a form of restorative Justice practice that can be used to address conflicts and solve many issues. Circles strongly highlight healing and promote learning through group process as well. The main idea is to repair the damage done and encourage responsibility. This is done by discussing the issues and digging deeper into what led to the offense. Circle ritual is meant to create a respectful space in which many people can participate if they choose to. A circle may consists of the victim, the offender, and families from both sides. Also, the community can be involved as well as the judge, or an attorney. Everyone at the circle is able to speak and give their opinions as to the steps necessary to take in order to prevent the harm

The criminal justice system views any crime as a crime committed against the state and places much emphasis on retribution and paying back to the community, through time, fines or community work. Historically punishment has been a very public affair, which was once a key aspect of the punishment process, through the use of the stocks, dunking chair, pillory, and hangman’s noose, although in today’s society punishment has become a lot more private (Newburn, 2007). However it has been argued that although the debt against the state has been paid, the victim of the crime has been left with no legal input to seek adequate retribution from the offender, leaving the victim perhaps feeling unsatisfied with the criminal justice process.

Restorative justice has some key restorative values that are vital in the restorative justice conference to make the experience ‘restorative’. Concerning addressing victim needs and concerns means for listening, respecting, being non-judgmental, not blaming the victim and apologizing. The RJ system was bought as an alternative to the criminal justice system to give greater emphasis on victim rights and needs, offender accountability and community involvement. Throughout the essay, there will be an insight into how Restorative Justice addresses needs of victims in terms of the different proponents such as Information provided to victim, restitution/compensation, emotional and practical needs met, participation and involvement of victim and protection of victim, which (Wemmers and Marisa, 2002) as essentials to victims participating in the practice. The two countries that will be addressed will have had restorative justice built out of injustices and over-representation of the current criminal justice system to the indigenous peoples of those countries.

When considering studies in corrections on a global scale it is important to understand how to utilize the most applicable method to gather knowledge. Comparative studies are often used to explore methods for explicating or developing knowledge and attitudes. Comparative research examines cases with the intention to reveal the structure and invariance or unchanging relationship for an entire group or population. In this case, and for the purpose of this paper, the comparative research is suggested to be used in corrections on a global scale. Several problems arise when using comparative research studies on a global scale. Some of these issues are cross-cultural research between countries, selecting a compatible research design whether