Restorative Justice Recidivism

Many proponents argue that recidivism is not the central goal of restorative justice. They instead contend that restorative justice is intended to “meet the real needs of victims, offenders, and their communities created by the criminal act.” (McCold 1998) Offenders are held accountable for the consequences of their offense to begin to address their need to learn responsible behavior. (McCold 1998) Holding offenders accountable is expected to affect their future behavior, but changing their behavior is not the main purpose of restorative justice. (McCold 1998) Victims of crime desire to have their injuries recognized and experience confirmation that they are not responsible for the offense. (McCold 1998) Victims also want to feel that …show more content…
The vision is to assist in the development, strengthening and support of existing county restorative justice programs. The mission is to balance the legitimate needs of victims, offenders and the community. The commission develops policy and provides recommendation for restorative justice programs. These programs strive to enhance community protection and to develop empathy and competency in offenders. There is direct accountability of the offenders to the victim and community moving toward restoration and healing. (Commission 2011) The CRJC manages community education on restorative justice issues. It reviews and evaluates restorative justice needs, services, facilities and special concerns. (Supervisors 2014) The commission consists of 19 members representing Monterey County: Probation Department, victim representatives from all five districts, District Attorney’s office, public defender, school educators, business community, faith community, non-profit, student, chief of police, state corrections, local corrections, city mayors, member of the Board of Supervisors, and a person with personal experience with the criminal justice system. (Commission …show more content…
As an example, in a Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act report, the cost of the Restorative Justice Partners, Inc., Victim Offender Reconciliation Program is estimated to be approximately $500 per juvenile offender, less than the cost to incarcerate one juvenile for a day in Monterey County. Considering that this program also benefits the family and community of both the offender and the victim, as well as the victim and offender themselves, the cost of this program per person impacted is considerably less. (Supervisors