Restorative Justice

Restorative justice

In the restorative justice (RJ) city case study; Ed, David, and Mildred, had an unusual encounter. In this story about two young men breaking into a women’s home and violating her rights. In RJ city were this crime took place, the city has a very unique way of dealing with crime by using restorative justice. The restorative justice process emphasizes on repairing harm that is cause by crime. This repair includes the victim, the offender, and the members of the community. All these entities have to work together to create a way to repair the damage done by crimes in this city. The restorative justice process is also considered to be “the circle”. The circle is only performed when the offender admits responsibility for his or her actions. The restorative justice process had a positive outcome when it was used in RJ city. The restorative justice process is a way of looking at crime differently. It also creates solutions that not only seek punishment, but also determines the issues which lead up to the initial crime itself. The restorative justice process finds ways to resolve the issues at hand as well. The restorative process within RJ city while successful has changed many lives along the way. This process assists all of those persons involved. A little city call Restorative Justice or RJ city for short a burglary occurred that would have an impression on Mildred and her entire community. In RJ city crime is no stranger. There are some things that can be noted that differ from other major cities while handling crime. In RJ city “to restore justice” is there model. Even though all crimes are not under the restorative scope when determining the cause of the crime in itself, restorative justice is an effective tool within the criminal justice system because this form of justice contains the major focuses of the criminal justice system. Not to mention the restorative justice needs the criminal justice system in order to be able to work.
The most important reason that is restorative justice is an effective tool within the criminal justice system. This is a form of justices that contains the major focuses of the criminal justice system. That rehabilitate to correct and to restore offenders. The burglary causes damage to the home of a person and the well-being of an entire group of people. When Ed did not admit to the crimes that were committed this alarmed the community that there are some people that are not that far in reach that are able to commit crimes and not take responsibility for there actions. This is a way for people to come together and take a stand on safety in their community. David wanted to help. His coach wanted to help him pay for the wrong things he had done and now David is a better person. His family wanted to help David get back on the right track so they educated them self’s in order to keep David going on the right path. The community members wanted to be safe so they help Mildred bring her home back into a clam state where she could feel comfortable living there. The community brought her food and company until she was able to get care for another avenue. Another community group found work in repairing Mildred's door.
To be able to describe how the restorative justice process differs from the contemporary criminal justice process there has to be a better understanding of restorative justice. To have a better understanding of what the restorative justice process is, there are three main restorative justice processes that are identified. These three main processes are the restorative circles, restorative conferencing, and the victim/offender mediation. The different circles that are involved in this process include the offender, the victims, and even a facilitator to keep the peace. The restorative conferencing allows the victim and the offender to be face to face for discussions. The victim/offender mediation allows the offender and the victim to have meetings with a trained mediator to come to various types of conclusions (Van Ness, 2008).
There are many differences in the forms of the restorative justice process and the contemporary criminal justice process. In these differences you will find three main areas where they are different. The three are as follows: the first way is that the restorative justice process looks at criminal activity much more comprehensively. By looking at crime more comprehensively a person would have to see crime as any act of breaking the law. This view is more geared toward who the crime affected instead of what. For instance the victims, the community members as well as other people within the range of what crime can reach are what we consider to be the who of a crime (Van Ness, 2008). The second way is that it has much more involvement from different parties that go along with the crime. This does not allow the government to have all the say it also allows the victims and the victim’s family to have participation (Van Ness, 2008). The last difference is the success rate to be looked at much differently. For instance the success rate will measure how to repair or fix the problem of crime. These differences do not look at the punishment of the crime, but it also looks at all the harm that the crime had caused (Van Ness, 2008).
The restorative justice process helped David by giving him a second chance. The circle allowed him to express how he felt to everyone in his life that meant something to him as well as allow the other members from the community to hear how he was able to turn things around if he was just given the chance. The reason why David did the things that got him in trouble was out of his control like his father losing his job. The actions that David could control he took charge of those actions. Which was David owning up to the crime that he had committed as well as agreeing with all of the terms of him admitting he was wrong. The time it took David to realize his wrong doing was as critical as the time he took to make it all right in the end.
Mildred took a great benefited from the restorative justice process by being allowed to get the chance to ask questions about the event and to view the reactions and the feelings of the person that affected her world. She could now put a face to the person who did not think twice about what it was he was doing before he did it. Now she could see if this individual deserved to be punished or given another chance. She got a chance to meet some of her new neighbors and discover new things that her community had to offer. Like the meal service, or the group that fixed properties of crime victims, and even the victims’ advocates and assistants.

Reference
Van Ness, D. (2008 November). What is Restorative Justice. Retrieved from http://www.pfi org/cjr/restorative-justice/introduction-to-restorative-justice-practice-and-outcomes/briefings/what-is-restorative-justice