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Restorative Justice Is A System Of Criminal Justice

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Restorative justice is a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. Understanding the definition may be really hard to understand, however when we put it in a different form that many can understand it comes down to repair, encounter and transformation. Our book describes restorative justice in three parts as accountability, community protection and competency development (Sieh, 2006). Accountability gives the offender the opportunity to take responsibility for their actions. The offender needs to acknowledge that the behavior that was committed resulted from a choice, and that they had a choice to not commit this criminal act that affected the victim greatly. Along with acknowledgement, it is also taking action to repair the harm that was committed (Guide For Implementing the Balanced and Restorative Justice Model, n.d.). The offender also needs to make the necessary changes to avoid this same behavior in the future and committing a criminal act in the future. With accountability as a goal a process and the offender are guided through the process by many participating individuals within the justice system. The probation or parole officers may be on the front line to help guide the offender through the process and allow them to have the face to face meeting with community members or the victim. There needs to be a support system, this can include family, extended
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