Barry Levinston's Sleepers And The Restorative Justice System

Punishments for crime and bad behavior have been seen in different ways with some thinking we should be lenient and not give criminals hard times, while others thought that a more severe, brutal punishments to truly emphasis right from wrong. The articles “Time to Assert American Values” by an editor from The New York Times and “Rough Justice A Caning in Singapore Stirs Up a Fierce Debate About Crime and Punishments” by Alejandro Reyes both describe the trial of a teenage boy from the United States who was caught vandalizing in Singapore. Both authors of the articles examine in great detail, the punishments that the young boy should receive for his crime with both articles contradicting each other. After carefully analyzing

The literature that has been reviewed directly incorporates the principles set out in Goldson and Muncie “Youth Justice with Integrity”. The analysis of the current justice model attempts to maximize diversion by providing more offences available for extrajudicial measures and the use of measures for re-offenders. Additionally, it is argued that the de-politicization of the youth justice model will help the integrity by providing effective programs and services that will address the social needs of specific individuals within the available resources in the community. The programs and services that are being used are effective, but there are areas of improvement for greater prevention strategies which will hold a person more accountable for

The first point of criticism against victim participation in restorative justice processes arises from scepticism about an apology to the victim as a way of dealing with criminal matters. The perception sometimes exists as to it simply being a way to get away with the crime.106 Members of the public should thus be educated to understand that restorative justice is more than a mere saying sorry, but in the context of victim offender mediation or family group conferences it rather affords the victim the opportunity to confront the child offender with the real and human cost of his or her criminal actions. Another concern deals with the possible secondary victimisation of the victim in the case where the offender pretends

I believe that restorative justice could be a good idea for the United States if it is used correctly. I think that if restorative justice is used correctly, it could really benefit everyone involved: the victim, offender, family, and the community. Some of the restorative justice ways can also help victims move past what has happened to them and live a more normal life again. I think restorative justice would also benefit the United States because it can help the offender have a better life after.

Today our justice system has a multitude of options when dealing with those who are convicted of offenses. However, many argue that retributive justice is the only real justice there is. This is mainly because its advantage is that it gives criminals the appropriate punishment that they deserve. The goals of this approach are clear and direct. In his book The Little Book of Restorative Justice, Zehr Howard (2002), illustrates that the central focus of retributive justice is offenders getting what they deserve (p. 30). This reflection paper will first address the advantages of using retributive justice approach in three court-cases. Second, it will discuss the disadvantages of using retributive justice approaches by analyzing the three court-cases listed above. Third, it will elaborate on ways that the system could have used restorative justice processes in the cases, as well as present potential outcomes that could have been reached if restoration justice was taken into consideration.

Within the judicial and criminal justice systems, restorative justice is seen as a forward moving process in regards to the way in which the sentencing of offenders is handled (Britto & Reimund, 2013). Restorative justice works to focus on the needs of both the victim and the offender but incorporates the community as well as those who support both the victim and offender (Britto & Reimund, 2013). The approach of restorative justice in not simply a means by which society responds to and reduces crime but instead, provides an equivalently valuable social response to crime (Dancig-Rosenberg and Galt, 2013). Furthermore, the restorative approach places emphasis on the personal and relational harms which were caused by the crime while creating space for dialogue concerning the actual damage, whether directly or

Restorative Justice processes are likely to reduce criminals from repeating offenses, as numerous recidivism studies have demonstrated. Thus, it would be more than justified to employ restorative processes a response to crimes under

Restorative justice is a theory of the criminal justice system that focuses on the rehabilitation of the offenders, victims, and community. This fairly new theory is a new way of tackling criminal behavior, because unlike the traditional form of justice that we have become accustomed to restorative justice allows the affected persons of a given crime to be fully involved in the process of justice. Personally, I agree greatly with the concept of restorative justice, because the face to face interactions of victims and offenders can be a powerful way of addressing the material and physical injuries caused by a crime. However, with all the healing that can be achieve using the method of justice, it does have qualities that can cause it to have

It also had significant benefits for the victims as they were allowed to work through the emotions of their victimization in a more healthy manner and in a safe and supported environment (Strang et al., 2012). While restorative justice conferencing still needs some improvements to have an overall efficient and effective response to criminal offending, early research indicates that it is a more progressive and successful approach to reducing crime in comparison to the traditional goals of criminal

There is some theoretical ambiguity in the meaning of Restorative Justice in spite of the many definitions and studies done on the subject. Restorative Justice has been defined as “an ethos with practical goals, among which to restore harm by including affected parties in a (direct or indirect) encounter and a process of understanding through voluntary and honest dialogue.” It is primarily concerned with the reinstatement of victims to life before the crime, restoration of the Offender to a well behaved and lawful life, restoration of the injury caused to the community and the creation of a better society in the present and the future.

The speaker talked about the 70% recurrence of crimes whereas only 15% repeat crimes after restorative justice, Texas’ crime rates and jail enrollment have dropped, the cost of jail enrollment is 115,000 CAD$ for one year per person, whereas restorative justice only costs about 10,000 CAD$ for the same person throughout the same term and how much more effective can restorative justice be with a provided life example of John’s case, the bottom line is that restorative justice reduces crimes, improves the lives of criminals by healing and makes communities a safer

One large aspect of Canadian law is the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The Youth Criminal Justice Act is an act which respects the criminal justice for young people. Youth ages twelve to seventeen are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act if they have committed a crime. There has been much debate over the act because some people believe the act is too easy on youth, so youth get away with the crimes they commit. The law acknowledges the youth is culpable, but must take into consideration their level of maturity at a young age. The Youth Criminal Justice Act does a respectable job at deterring youth crime because it deals with protecting the youth, punishing the

Traditionally, crime has been viewed as a violation against the state. Still too little attention is given to the fact that criminal acts are also violations of the victims and the communities. Punishing and correcting offenders’ criminal behaviors should not only be conducted using the concepts of retribution, incapacitation, and deterrence, it should also be designed to repair the damages done to the victims and the communities. Many benefits are associated with shifting to the restorative justice model, for the victim, the offender, and the community. Restorative justice benefits the victims by giving them a voice regarding the accountability of the offender. It gives them a chance of expressing the impact of the crime, and the harms and losses the offender has caused them. Finally, it can help victims by asking questions and receiving information that will help them find closure and

Batley (2005) stated that restorative justice is about restoring, healing and re- integrating victims, offenders, as well as the society and also preventing further harm. In this assignment, I will be discussing approaches to restorative justice and illustrating their advantages and disadvantages to offending. I will also provide the applications of these five approaches of restorative justice which are retributive approach, utilitarian deterrence approach, rehabilitation approach, restitution approach and restorative approach in the given case study. I will then explain my preferred approach to justice through identifying a personal belief or value that underpins my choice.

The Restorative Justice System focuses on problem solving, liabilities, and obligations. It focuses on the future instead of the past. It would help the boys take responsibility for their actions and be able to restore the crime they committed in the community. The four boys are also first time offenders, which also plays a huge factor because you can see they never intended for what they did to turn out so bad in the end. For the Restorative Justice System you have to be first time offenders so that they are able to help you. Under the Retributive Justice System it focuses more on establishing guilt. The four boys would have to take the punishment. There would not really be room for forgiveness and they would not be able to restore the crime they committed in the community. Typically the crime committed matches the sentence given.(Youth at Risk and Youth Justice., November 15, 2015). Since the boy’s crime was pretty serious the boys would be sentenced with negative consequences. This is why the boys should be dealt with under the Restorative Justice System over the Retributive Justice