Restorative Justice Approach To Criminal Justice

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 (RJ) is the practice of trying to restore the victims of harm or trauma back to a state of peace and contentment. It is used to benefit the victims so they can in a way reclaim a part of themselves. Restorative justice has three main models/practices; Victim Offender Conferencing (VOC), Circle Processes, and Family Group Conferences. Victim offender conferencing is the most common application of restorative justice in North America. In, The Little Book of Victim Offender Conferencing, Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz explains, “the victim offender conferencing process brings victims and offenders of crime together in a face-to-face meeting prepared and led by a trained facilitator, often a community volunteer, to talk about the impact of the consequences of the crime.”

Restorative justice refers to the idea that the simple punishment through incarceration of a criminal may not necessarily end or satisfy the harm, injury or pain of the victim. Moreover, restorative justice argues that punishment by itself is unlikely to change the behavior of the offender in a way that guarantees he will not commit the same act(s) again and that he will feel remorse for the act(s) that he did commit. Accordingly, the aims of restorative justice are threefold. First, it aims to bring closure to the victim, whether it is through allowing them to fully participate in the criminal justice process, directly let their feelings known to the offender or understanding why the crime happened. Second, it aims to force the offender to

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.

The restorative justice movement emerged in the 1970s in Canada. However, some of its key principles were already in place. At one point in history, crimes were not seen against the state. Instead, it was up to the victim and/or their family to seek reparation from the offender. This approach was very victim-centered, but this changed as crimes began to be seen as crimes against the state as well. This made the justice system more offender-centered. People began getting together and formed a general consensus that victims deserved the same rights as the offender. This is how the restorative justice model began. The movement was based on the belief that we should not be solely focused on punishing the offender or trying to pit the defendant

Restorative justice is a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. I think this is a good system to help people through tough times. Another system is the death penalty. The death penalty is when you did a really bad crime like kill someone, they have a choice to kill you. They kill you by injecting drugs into your veins. The church is against this because it is wrong to take someone's life from them. I am both for and not for the death penalty. I am for it because if someone did first degree murder they should get killed for it. I say this because when they murdered the person they have hurt everyone that knew the person. That is why I think

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.

Restorative justice is an innovative approach to the criminal justice system that focuses on repairing the harm caused by crimes committed. The methods used in the conventional justice system may deter the offender from committing further crimes, but it does neither repair the harm caused, nor help them acknowledge their responsibility, instead it stigmatizes them, worsening the situation instead of improving it. Many have attempted to facilitate a consensual understanding for RJ. The truth is that has not yet been possible for RJ proponents to formulate a definition to which all would be subscribed. (Gavrielides, 2008)

It is important to know what works in restorative justice and for which type of victim it is a suitable alternative or addition to criminal justice. The goal of this study was to find out to what extent a victim’s pre-mediation level of PTSD, propensity to forgive (depending on interpersonal commitment), and anger are associated with the victims’ general satisfaction with victim-offender mediation. The expectation was that PTSD and anger would be negatively associated with general satisfaction, and that forgiveness would be positively associated, but that this relationship would be more evident when the victim had a stronger commitment before the offense. For this purpose, existing data were used of a research project in the Netherlands on

To What Extent Should Restorative Justice be incorporated within the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales? (2500 words)

Restorative justice focuses on "...repairing harm caused by criminal behavior." According to "restorativejustive.org.". Typically criminals are taken over by the state at the point of conviction and all type of interaction with the corrections process is between

One in twenty-five people sentenced to death by capital punishment end up being innocent. Errors that are later discovered about someone being punished to death are always possible, yet it is impossible to make restitution to a recipient of wrongful capital punishment. Restorative justice is a form of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of criminals primarily through justice for the victims rather than incarcerating or putting the offender to death. Wrongdoing is not only a violation of laws, but also a violation of interpersonal relationships as well, making restorative justice the key for a victim to heal. Although many believe justice is served when the law provides it, such as in capital punishment or incarceration, justice can only be provided by the victim themself .

Restorative justice is the view towards crime as more than breaking the law. Restorative justice believes that crime causes harm to more than just the victim, it also causes harm to other factors such as the community, relationships and families. Therefore, a just response is required to deal with the harms and wrongdoing of the offender; a just response is a fair and candid response in the eyes of the law. If both parties are willing, they can meet to discuss the harms and how to bring about a resolution. However, there are alternatives if the clients do not want to meet. Although it is best if they do, as

Many people don’t make it through probation successfully because they find it hard to get a job once they’re convicts. It should be taken into account that those who plead guilty in order to get a plea bargain with probation tend to be innocent, so they aren’t aware of all the difficulties of probation. They later see how expensive probation is because they have to pay for their court fines, their probation officer, and their drug testings weekly(Dalton 05/25/16). Creating so much demand makes those in probation have a hardship in keeping an employment, and averagely they’ll be paying the state $1500 a year for probation. Cases in which this is seen include the cases of Coleman, and Bates. Coleman decided to do probation, but he didn’t complete

How many inmates were isolated from their communities when they had committed a crime or when they got released from the prisons? And how many effective programs can be helpful for them?Many posts-release prisoners have experienced recidivism and social stigmas due to lack of programs. In fact, restorative justice for people in prison has played a big role in our correctional systems in many different ways.Restorative justice in prison shapes our prisoner 's morals and abilities by providing a suitable technique. Although punishment may play a part in restorative justice techniques, the central focus remains on relationships between the affected parties, and healing reached through a deliberative process guided by those affected parties.( Tsui,2014). For instance, many inmates have attended into reentry programs and educational orientations when they finished their time in prison. These programs cost less money for the government, and inmates can be reintegrated into societies easily. Many post-release prisoners have avoided recidivism after these effective programs taught them the value of lives. This study will examine the importance of restorative justice in prison, which is essential for our correctional facilities. Numerous studies have been done recently which focused on this restorative justice.For example, restorative justice answers the justice question in a different way.(Toews,p.5,2006).