Restorative Justice

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 stigmatises them, worsening the situation instead of improving it (Johnstone 2003). “Stigmatisation is the kind of shaming that creates outcasts; it is disrespectful, humiliating” (p.85). It breaks the moral bonds between offender and community and can result in the creation of a destructive cycle that may result in fear and isolation. The shaming by stigmatisation creates a negative effect which

What is restorative justice? Restorative justice is when youths that were affected by an incident choose to repair the damage that they committed, restore trust, and find a place in the community in which they can fit into society. Not only that, but one of their main focus is to build respectful relationships that can be noticed by everyone (Murthy, 2016, para. 2). The restorative justice approach shares three goals. These three goals are known as accountability, competency, and public safety. Accountability is responsible for making amends and reestablishes the losses to victims and communities. The purpose of accountability is not to obey a curfew, attending counseling, having interaction with a probation officer, or evade the usage of drugs. The full meaning of restorative justice is simply to take full responsibility for the actions that were committed (del Carmen & Trulson, 2006, p. 446). The purpose of competency is basically doing something that’s going to value another person. Not doing an illegal crime doesn’t count as a standard for competency. Getting offenders involved in different activities would value the community. Activities that value the community are work, community service, dispute resolution, and community problem solving. All of these activities help rebuild the offender, victim, and of course the community (del Carmen & Trulson. 2006, p. 446). The last one which is public safety helps offenders get more involved within the community through

The willingness to change, and the increase use of these justice practices from the “goal-driven” organizations lead to the alliance between the victims and the community. The unity of the victims and society that occurred created satisfaction and trust that leads to an increase of reported crime. The increase of reported crimes lead to the higher risk of being caught and therefore, the reluctance of potential offenders to commit crime (Dancig-Rosenberg, and Galt, 2013). This is just another one out of many reasons why the restoration justice should be used more. These smart techniques from the “goal-driven” officers will focus on the smart techniques and yield a gradual and more productive use of the justice practice techniques (Alarid, and Montemayor,

Umbreit etal have conducted a study on the significance of the lens on restorative justice dialogue in Minnesota in 2009. In most RJ programs, victims and offenders engage in direct dialogue about a specific offense or infraction, with the presence of at least one-third person who serves as a mediator, facilitator, convener, or circle keeper. The purpose of the study was to learn whether the use of Restorative Justice Programs would bring positive outcomes when restoring broken relationship and trust between victim and offender. The survey also covered participation

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.

encourage a young person to acknowledge and repair the harm caused to the victim and the community;

I obtained my associates degree in psychology and when I started Walden for my bachelor’s that was also in psychology, however after taking a few criminal justice classes as my concentration I liked it so much I switched my major, so explaining criminal justice to people is not new to me as many people want to know why I switched and what the difference is.

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.

I watched a video on youtube based on a restorative justice conference which is an example of restorative justice. The video was actors, that was fed actual victims and offenders words, during a particular conference. The conference started as any traditional restorative justice conference would, everyone se in a circle, and was told to give the name that they wish to be addressed as. After, the name introduction the facilitator set the ground rules, such as no verbal abuse, or curse words etc. Next, the offender a woman who burglarized the victim home, was allowed to tell her side, as to why she broke into the victims home. Once the offender shared her story, a sign of relief appeared across the victims face. The victim then proceeded to state

The United States of America, long ago, founded a disciplinary system that was to keep law abiding citizens safe. Those who broke the law were to be adequately punished and reformed, so that when criminals were done serving time, they would be ready to become contributing members of society. Mandatory minimum sentences, high prison return rates, and overworked and underfunded public defenders are just some of the issues that plague the Criminal Justice System. It is astounding that an alternative has not been sought.Restorative justice, or Circle justice is a discipline system that involves mediation, honest speaking, and healing. It gets all parties to share their experiences thoughts and feelings to address what happened in the inciting

Restorative justice is a technique to criminal justice that focuses on the needs of victims and the offender. Also, involved in the process is the community where the crime took place. The point is for both parties to play a certain role throughout the process. The offender is to learn of their mistake and take responsibility for their actions instead of using imprisonment. The victim informs the offender the difficulties the crime that was committed against them and how it has affected their lives and other people’s. The process is designed to help make the offender not offend again. The different programs the offender may go through are victim-offender mediation, restitution, and community-work programs. This type of punishment is used towards low-risk offenders.

66). In the article titled “A call for restorative justice in higher education judicial affairs” by Clark (2014) the author describes how a college student stole a statute from an antique shop and was apprehended. Following this incident, the Dean of Academic Affairs at the college the perpetrator attended invited the manager of the antique shop and the artist that designed the statute to speak to the individual that stole it. The invitation gave the store owner and artist the opportunity to describe the significance of the statute and how they felt when they realized it was stolen. After hearing them express their feelings, the student understood how his actions impacted others and was given the opportunity to resolve the matter without getting a criminal record or being incarcerated. I believe the administrator was able to help the victims cope and the perpetrator the opportunity to take responsibility or his actions and learn from his

Currently in the United Kingdom there are youth offending specialist teams who work exclusively with juvenile offenders and their victims. As part of this diversionary program, juvenile probation officers organize restorative conferencing with the offender, the victim, the probation officer and community representatives, if appropriate. The conference involves the offender in a written agreement with the victim - as a form of apology, reparation, and restitution. A crucial principle of restorative justice is that the victim is compensated by the offender - for example, by working in their garden, painting a garage or shed etc. In this way the victim can be compensated and where reconciliation is achieved between victim and perpetrator,

During this type of healing circle, the offence will be discussed as well as how it affected the victim and the community and the relationship between them and the offender (Justice Education Society, 2016). Not only does the circle attempt to heal community ties, the circle also focuses on the offender and the fundamental causes of their offence (Justice Education Society, 2016). Following a healing circle that is directed towards offenders and victims, a consensus is taken to decide the subsequent steps that should be taken by the offender to correct the harms caused by their actions (Justice Education Society, 2016). These steps could include specialized counseling or treatment programs, community work service, potlatch or other traditional remedies, direct restitution to the victim or community and in some cases, unique and creative solutions emerge (Justice Education Society, 2016).

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.