Restorative Justice Process
Chapter 4
Restorative justice processes and programs and the Criminal justice system
1 Introduction
South Africa as in most countries in the world is still applying a retributive justice system. The accusatorial system is still dominating our courts whereby the accused person is in the Centre of interrogation and there is no or little concern regarding the victim of crime. In response to the challenges faced by the criminal justice system and simultaneously transforming the administration of justice, the Justice Crime Prevention and Security Cluster (JCPS) has adopted the Restorative Justice approach for several reasons including the fact that Restorative Justice is largely informed by indigenous and
…show more content…
Restorative justice is about building communities of care around individuals while not condoning harmful behaviour; in other words, holding individuals accountable for their actions within systems of support. restorative justice is about addressing the hurts and needs of both victims and offenders in such a way that both parties, as well as the communities which they are part of, are healed.
The focus in the case of restorative justice is on the emotional and social disruption caused by misbehaviour. The focus is not on the misbehaviour itself, but rather on the consequences of the misbehaviour. The wrongdoing lies in the violation of people and interpersonal relationships and not in the breaking of the rules. Karp and Breslin emphasize that restorative justice is about disapproving of the transgression while valuing and supporting the transgressor's intrinsic
…show more content…
The transgressor plays an inactive part, with no regard being had for the victim or community and with the authority figure actively measuring out the punishment. The transgressor thus becomes the object of punishment. In contrast, with the restorative justice approach, the transgressor is forced to participate actively in adjudicating the dispute. Accountability is therefore defined as understanding the impact of one’s actions, taking responsibility for one’s choices and suggesting ways to repair the harm. Since the transgressor's behaviour is seen as harm done to the victims, the transgressor and the community as a whole, the transgressor is obliged to repair the
Unit 1-1: Why We Need Law
1534 Words | 7 PagesMoney is everything in today’s world, more money means more power , so corporations for their major contributions to the economy by giving jobs and paying taxes are favoured by judges whilst an individual is nothing to compare, and yet again corporation can afford to hire better lawyers than what an individual could, rarely does it happen that you hear on the news about an individual who beat a corporation in a court debate, also because of the toll and srees that an individual would have to go through in order to beat a corporation in court. Natalie DeFreitas has made numerous points as to why restorative justice as better than/more effective than the current law system here in Canada. 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
A Brief Note On Indigenous Canada And The Canadian Criminal Justice System
1157 Words | 5 PagesBeing a voluntary process, restorative justice requires the offender to take responsibility for their actions, truly understand their impact, and begin a journey of healing (Eggleton & Saint-Germain, 2018). Many Indigenous offenders are the product of their circumstances and feel helpless against the systemic hurdles they must overcome within society (Editorial Board, 2022). Restorative justice takes a less traditional approach compared to the oppressive justice system of today, enabling the Indigenous offender to be treated as a human being, and not just another statistic (Eggleton & Saint-Germain,
Restorative Criminal Justice Movement
297 Words | 2 PagesRestorative Justice past practices and activities that are popular within the Restorative justice movement are Prisoner rights and alternatives to prisons, which is a program to change prison condition and minimize incarceration sentencing, Conflict Resolution is a program that creates neighborhood justice centers available to the community. The Victim offender Reconciliation program (VORPs) is a meeting between the victim and the community, Victim-Offender Mediation (VOMS) is mediation between the victim and the offender, Victim Advocacy is the victim rights group which focused on the efforts for restitution for the crime. The family group conferences (FGCs) allow the victim and family and the offenders to meet. The Sentencing Circle includes
Restorative Justice Practices
304 Words | 2 PagesA common theme among restorative justice (RJ) practices, as a whole, is to hold offenders accountable and empower victims. The sentencing circle, also known as the peacemaking circle, is a community-based practice with the primary goal of determining a suitable punishment that meets the needs of all parties associated with the offense. There are, however, other RJ practices, specifically ones used in cases of intimate family or domestic violence, that are in contract to the sentencing circle. For example, victim-survivor panels are a common RJ practice for victims of domestic or sexual violence. Victims do not face their abuser but rather the attendees are individuals, typically men, responsible for committing similar offenses as those described
Barry Levinston's Sleepers And The Restorative Justice System
849 Words | 4 PagesThis type of justice system is designed very differently when compared with the retributive justice system. The restorative justice system endeavours to bring the victim and the offender together and allow them to speak with each other in the hopes to support the healing process. It will enable the victims to express themselves to the offender and lets the offender apologize and express their feelings to the victim. The restorative justice system often offers the victims of crime closure. The system encourages both parties to reveal themselves to each other and develop a solution for the future to satisfy both parties involved.
Forgiveness In Transitional Justice Analysis
1593 Words | 7 PagesIn Exploring Forgiveness, Robert Enright and Joanna North frame forgiveness as ‘wiping away the negative consequences of the offenders injustice and as a merciful reaching out to the offender’. The wording of this particular conception, makes forgiveness seem as though it is an act that the scorned must commit in order to save the persecutor from the consequences of the injustice that they committed. The victim, thus, becomes responsible for the act of liberating both themselves and the persecutor from the negative action. For forgiveness to have a beneficial effect on the two parties, it needs to be done in an environment where the victim does not feel any pressure to forgive. Rebecca Saunders provides reason to believe that while many transitional
Restorative Justice Process
642 Words | 3 PagesThere are several old ways of solving crime according to many sources, but restorative justice is a type of rehabilitation process which focuses on repairing, and as the word suggest brings restoration. It rebuilds the lives of individuals who are involve in crime. While crime damages a person life, restorative justice repairs it (Office for Victims of Crime, 2000; Morris and Maxwell, 2001). There are three main stakeholders in a restorative justice process, these are the victims, the offender, and the community, therefore when crime is committed restorative justice sees it as an office against people and not against the state. I believe that in order for restorative justice process to be successful all three parties involve, citizens, victims,
Restorative Justice Vs Utilitarianism
117 Words | 1 PagesRestorative 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
Pros And Cons Of Retributive Justice
1479 Words | 6 PagesToday 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).
Restorative Justice In Criminal Justice
713 Words | 3 PagesThe Restorative justice processes provide an opportunity for forgiveness and reconciliation to materialize, if the victims are willing to, and generally, it is not surprising for this to occur with greater or lesser intensity. Forgiveness itself includes individual transformation of the victims that can free the pain of the past thereby healing the wounds caused by the crime. The decision to forgive has multifaceted explanations. Often, the victims themselves find it difficult to identify clearly the reason or reasons that led them to forgive and also it is common that there is more than one cause. Restorative justice seeks to uphold the humanization of the consequences of crime, encouraging the postulation of accountability on the part of
Benefits Of Restorative Justice
394 Words | 2 PagesAnother reason that I feel so strongly about the restorative justice program being the better approach to the justice system is because of all the benefits the program has to offer. According to Gibbs and Jacobson (2009) this approach holds wrongdoers responsible for their actions in a constructive and meaningful way that can possibly lead to a more sustaining experience of justice for the victims and their society. Usually in the end both the victims and the offenders have a high level of gratification with the practice and the outcomes. Some of the main benefits for using the restorative justice approach for victims and the offenders include the large amount of reduction in the offender repeating offending, although not all, it can help
Tyranny Research Paper
715 Words | 3 PagesThis trend and tyranny are discussed in detail and examined in depth in the coming parts. II. A glimpse of history, international principles and practices The concept of compensating victims for the loss they suffered and to restore them by making monetary amends is justified and encouraged because of the “benefit to the victims, possible deterrent effect on the offender or on the public, the possible educative or preventive effect on public morality, the possible reformative effect on offender of ill-gotten gains and the view that compensation has an ‘intrinsic moral value of its own’.”
The Benefits Of Restorative Justice
1336 Words | 6 PagesAs wrongdoing will continue to occur in society, the manner in which wrongdoers are dealt with will be debated alongside it. Hence, it is vital to have a justice process that can adequately deal with wrongdoers in a manner that incarceration has not, and in recent times, such an ideology of justice has emerged; restorative justice. This journal will divulge into restorative justice, and to do this, I shall; describe restorative, compare and contrast different types of concepts of justice, exemplify critiques, and benefits of restorative justice, and discuss the future of restorative justice. In the end, restorative justice will be clearly depicted as a tremendous process that has been far too long ignored by conventional justice practices, and in the future should be utilized more, as it has great potential to aid numerous individuals who make mistakes. To begin with, restorative justice is an attempt to address the several flaws that the criminal justice system possesses in terms of not adequately meeting the needs of each stakeholder: the harmer, the harmed, and the community (Zehr, 2015, pg.
Racist Commentary Research Paper
772 Words | 4 PagesRestorative justice strives to re-establish goodwill between the parties, thereby diffusing reconciliation in a society. Although enduring amity remains an unachieved objective, the TRC nonetheless holds immense value in South Africa’s progression towards social goodwill. In summary, the tradition and legacy of the TRC can be described as the practice of the restoration of hurts between wrongdoers and their victims in the hope and ambition of large-scale reconciliation.
Victim Empowerment In The Criminal Justice System
723 Words | 3 PagesWhile the retributive justice system primarily focuses on the community response to offending, thereby totally ignoring the legitimate needs of the victims, the restorative justice system works on the idea of victim empowerment. Having said that, we also have to take into account the recent paradigm shift, which has been a result of the various movements against the deficiencies in the current criminal justice system. The Courts are slowly making certain changes in the sentencing policies by paying heed to the wailings of the victims, one major instance being that of the scope for victim compensation under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The Supreme Court has taken a pro-active role and resorted to affirmative action to protect the rights of victims of sexual offences. Since restorative justice is an emerging concept in India, previous research on this area clearly points out that the main difference between restorative and retributive approaches is the former’s emphasis on reintegration, restitution and reparation.
More about Restorative Justice Process
Unit 1-1: Why We Need Law
1534 Words | 7 PagesA Brief Note On Indigenous Canada And The Canadian Criminal Justice System
1157 Words | 5 PagesRestorative Criminal Justice Movement
297 Words | 2 PagesRestorative Justice Practices
304 Words | 2 PagesBarry Levinston's Sleepers And The Restorative Justice System
849 Words | 4 PagesForgiveness In Transitional Justice Analysis
1593 Words | 7 PagesRestorative Justice Process
642 Words | 3 PagesRestorative Justice Vs Utilitarianism
117 Words | 1 PagesPros And Cons Of Retributive Justice
1479 Words | 6 PagesRestorative Justice In Criminal Justice
713 Words | 3 PagesBenefits Of Restorative Justice
394 Words | 2 PagesTyranny Research Paper
715 Words | 3 PagesThe Benefits Of Restorative Justice
1336 Words | 6 PagesRacist Commentary Research Paper
772 Words | 4 PagesVictim Empowerment In The Criminal Justice System
723 Words | 3 Pages