Restorative_Justice

Restorative Justice Michael B__________ Columbia Southern University English Comp II 1 August, 2010 Restorative Justice There are currently around 2.5 million inmates incarcerated in prison/ jail today, and our country must look for other ways to deal with those who chose to break the law. This current trend needs changed and there are several other alternatives that can be considered and implemented instead of just sentencing people to be placed in one of the many overcrowded prisons that have become a part of our society. One such alternative to this major problem in today’s society is the restorative justice program. This program is a good solution for many non-violent criminals because it allows the victim and local community to have their voices heard and be a true part of the judicial process. Restorative Justice is a program that does not have a set definition but encompasses numerous alternatives to the way our justice system functions today. One key idea that it focuses on is it serves as a substitute to the current trend of just sending people who violate the law to jail or prison. It also provides many opportunities in areas such as victim/ offender dialogue, mediation, and problem solving. Currently violators are paying back the State and/or Government for the violations and crimes that they have committed. Restorative justice is based on changing the way crime is viewed. By taking a different looking at crime, we are capable of seeing what has really happened and how citizens can make what went wrong into something good. The goal of this program is to center more on what harm occurred instead of just on breaking the law, and problem solving by victims and offenders. When a crime is committed it is a conflict between two people or individuals. According to Mary Boland, once a person is accused of a crime, he or she becomes a party to the case and is entitled to the protection of the US Constitution, and all laws that apply to persons charged with a crime (2002). But what about the victim, where are their rights and protection' Seymour states that restorative justice provides victims with a viable alternative to an adversarial justice process that traditionally has ignored their interests and needs (2002). There are three basic fundamental concepts of restorative justice. The first is that crime is an infringement of people and their basic rights. The current system in which crime is considered an act against the State, works on the principle that largely ignores the victim and the community that is hurt the most by the crime committed. Many believe that the current practice of paying back the debt to the State or Government for the crime committed is wrong. The restorative justice program uses the input and participation of all the people who are affected by the crime. Howard Zehr, in his book Changing Lenses explains 3 that restorative justice is a process through which remorseful offenders accept responsibility for their misconduct to those injured and to the community that, in response allows the reintegration of the offender into the community (1990). The second basic concept is that violations of the law have penalties or punishments. With the power given in the restorative justice program, the victim is allowed to participate in the punishment process. Putting someone in jail may serve as a way to punish the offender, but it does not do much to make things right for the victim. The first priority of the justice process is to assist victims. The final obligation is to the offender and efforts to help them make reparation and return to the community, needs to be sustained. The third concept is making right all the wrong doings that have taken place. Again this involves the participation of all those involved in the crime or wrong doing. The victim’s input and participation is determined by their needs. A mutual agreement takes priority over any imposed outcome. This concept is mainly geared toward those who commit non-violent crimes and violent career criminals would still be subjected to most of our current justice systems. I believe that the justice process should belong more to the community and not the State. Members of the community need to be more involved in the overall justice process. This involvement could serve two basic purposes. It allows the community to draw from its own resources and the members are allowed to express opinions on the issue at hand. Secondly, it helps to strengthen the communities because it lets them be a part of the justice process and a part of controlling crime. When a crime happens there are always two major players with the first being the victim. It would make sense for the victim to be at the core of the justice process with their needs as a key focus but victims are hardly ever involved with the process after a crime occurs. Laurence Tribe contends that “victims should be allowed to observe and participate in all relevant criminal trial proceedings because such participation parallels the rights of citizens to take part in government processes that affect their lives”. The former Attorney General Janet Reno expressed her concern that many Americans feel alienated from the justice system that has become too bureaucratic and detached. Former President George Bush stated that few crime victims are kept informed about the status of the criminal proceedings; by ignoring them, the criminal justice system victimizes them a second time (2002). The offender is also part of the crime and the selected punishment should be to help them become a productive member of society. Typically an offender has committed a crime, then the judge sentences him/her to ten years in prison. The hope of the judge is that the person will learn his/her lesson in prison. What has actually happened is that the judge has now placed them in an 4 atmosphere that typically nourishes and teaches violence. Some offenders end up getting into more trouble because they have a low self-esteem. The jail/ prison experience will remove any more self-esteem they may have left, and will be left with even fewer reasons for obtaining a better life after they are released back into society. Other offenders get into trouble because they lack the common sense to make good choices. Being in prison will offer the offender no opportunities to make their own choices. Not having to work a job, pay bills or manage money for example will cause them to become dependent on the State or government. A prison or long jail sentence also gives the offender a distorted ideal of relationships with other people. The lawbreaker needs to learn respect for others, and how to cope with conflict. These are lessons they will not learn while they are in confinement. The restorative model can be a good program when dealing with juvenile offenders. Several programs directed at juveniles have shown the model to be helpful, and one of these programs is in Dakota County in the state of Minnesota. They have several groups that have been able to deal with crime following the restorative model. According to the article “About the balance and restorative justice project”, an example is the victim-offender mediation/dialogue which is a process that provides interested victims of property crimes and minor assaults with the opportunity to meet the juvenile offender in a safe and structured setting. They also talk about the crime and its impact and try to create a plan with the victim to repair their losses. These meetings are mediated by specially trained community volunteers, giving them the opportunity to be involved in the process (Oct 6, 2007). Restorative programs not only work in dealing with crime, but it also helps build tougher communities. In Deschutes County, Oregon they have what is called the Community Justice Corps. Through community service, adults and youths make amends to the community for offenses while learning valuable skills. According to the Deschutes county website article, “In projects, offenders have worked with carpenters to help construct homeless shelters and domestic abuse centers” (2003). Community crime prevention programs address conflict in a community, and the causes of those conflicts so that they can deal with it in more positive ways before it ever escalates into a crime. Young states that some see violence not only as a result of a breakdown in community structure, but also as a force which contributes to the decline of how the community works within itself (1995). Community crime prevention programs recognize that they must partake in order to provide a helpful means of limiting crime. Strong and Ness explain that restorative justice advocates suggest that while government is responsible for maintaining order, the community is truly responsible for fostering peace within itself (1997). 5 Someone must make the initial decision to send a particular case to the restorative process, to establish criminal justice proceedings, or a combination of both. The restorative processes rely on voluntary participation by the parties, which means that each person decides whether or not a case is handled in a restorative type program. The traditional criminal justice system puts this decision in the hands of the prosecutor. I think the restorative justice is a sensible alternative to the growing problem of overcrowding in the American prison system. The perception that it is the victim who is hurt by a crime and not the State makes recovering from a crime less difficult for all who are involved. The current trend of just placing offenders in jail or prison as a means to pay back the crimes or wrong doings they committed does hardly anything to help them become useful members of their localities or home towns once released. A crime is a violation of human rights and all parties who are involved to include the victim, offender and the community have to be able to recover from the event. The focus of restorative justice is that all people effectively come together and resolve the situation, and come to common ground on which to move forward. This program may not work for all victims and offenders, but at least it is worth trying and maybe we can slowly make progress in the right direction and start to make a difference in our towns and local communities. 6 References A Little Place making a Big Impact. Deschutes County (2003) http:// www.co.deschutes.or.us/go/government Academic search elite. EBSCO. “About the balance and restorative justice project” Guide for implementing the balanced and restorative justice model.. Oct 6, 2007 http://www.mckendree.edu Boland, Mary L.(2001) “Crime Victim’s Guide to Justice”. KF9763.Z9 B65 2001 Bush, George W. “President Calls for Crime Victims’ Rights Amendment”. www.whitehouse.gov (16April, 2002) Seymour, Anne. “Restorative Justice for young offenders and their victims”. Juvenile Justice News. (Feb 2002) Academic search elite. EBSCO. Holeman Library. Lebanon, Illinois. www.mckendree.edu Strong and Van Ness. “Community Crime Prevention”. Restorative Justice Online (1997) Accessed 6 July 2010.http://www.restorativejustice.org/universityclassroom/ 01introduction/tutorial-introduction-to-restorative-justice/processes/ communityprevention/ Tribe, Lawrence H. “American Constitutional Law”, 3rd ed. Foundation Press, (1999). Young, Marlene A. “Community Crime Prevention”. Restorative justice online (1995). www.restorativejustice.org 7 Zehr, Howard. Changing Lenses: A New Focus for Crime and Justice. (1990) p 181.