What Is Restorative Justice

Restorative Justice for Juvenile Carjacking Offenders in Milwaukee
I. Introduction
Recently the City and County of Milwaukee have been facing a complicated issue, car thefts by juveniles. This situation has not only led to major inconveniences for the victims, but also the death of some offenders and bystanders. Because this is considered a property offense, even the tough on crime crowd is reluctant to throw the book at these teens. However, there has been outcry from the community alleging these children are not facing any consequences for their actions and are just going on to reoffend. The answer to these concerns can be found in restorative justice. It allows for the offenders to realize the affect their crime has on others, while not
There are three main principles of restorative justice: (1) restorative justice views crime as a harm to people and relationships; (2) offenders have an obligation to make things right to those affected; and (3) victims and offenders are direct stakeholders, but others are affected as well. Restorative justice programs respond to crime by identifying and repairing harm through stake holder involvement, working with communities and government. Instead of the traditional justice system, which focuses on punishing the defendant for a violation of law; restorative justice focuses on how we can assist the individuals who were harmed by the offender’s
The victim-offender mediation and conferencing programs in Orange County, California receive up to a thousand referrals of juvenile offenders and their victims annually. The County also benefits from this program by receiving a significant cost reduction by not putting additional money into an already overcrowded court and prison system. The Community Conferencing Center in Baltimore, Maryland has also found success. “The Center represents a well-established, community-based restorative justice initiative in a large urban community, with nine out of ten participants in community conferences being minority youth.” “In fiscal year 2010, 1185 youth were referred to the program, representing 463 cases. A total of 220 community conferences were convened, involving 1650 participants. Community conferences in Baltimore resulted in agreements to repair the harm 98 percent of the time, with 95 percent compliance with the agreements.” A recent study found that young offenders who participated in a community conference were 60 percent less likely to