The criminal justice system has a goal of providing justice to society for any wrong doing by offenders. The traditional justice system fails both offenders and victims alike by its inability to successfully rehabilitate offenders. There is a viable alternative to the traditional justice in the use of the restorative justice system “Restorative justice is based on the principle that a crime has affected the community, victim, and offender and as such all three should be involved in the resolution of the crime (Griffiths, 2014 p.208). Restorative justice makes use of victim-offender mediation, victim impact statements and other means of reconciling offenders to their victims to prevent future crimes from taking place. When an offender must reconcile
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The criminal justice system fails to acknowledge the recovery of the victims of crime and as such delivers justice only with the community in mind and not the individual victim "Advocates of restorative justice do not dispute the need to sanction or punish offenders; rather, they maintain that punishment alone may not be sufficient for victims ' healing and justice." (RJ Online). There are programs available to support the victims of crime but they are found outside of the criminal justice system and rarely include reconciliation with the offender. The restorative justice method attempts to involve the victim in the criminal justice system process in a way that will bring understanding and healing, “The primary objectives of restorative justice are to fully address the needs of the victims of crime and to prevent reoffending by reintegrating offenders back into the community” (Griffiths, 2014 pg. 308). The traditional justice system is preoccupied with prosecuting crimes “… will make decisions solely on the evidence, not subject to any other influence” (Griffiths, 2014 pg. 28) instead of attempting to recognize the importance of the rehabilitation of offenders.
The use of restorative justice can be used at many different points during the criminal justice system. Restorative justice can begin even before an offender is officially charged with a crime and can continue right …show more content…
Circle sentencing allows community residents, victims, and offenders to come together with members of the justice system to resolve conflicts. All parties involved sit facing each other in a circle and discuss the possible resolutions for the crime that has occurred (Griffiths, 2014 pg. 312). All parties involved in circle sentencing must consent to being bound by the findings of the process used but the judge does not abandon jurisdiction over the matter, “Note that judges are not bound by the recommendations of a sentencing circle and maintain control over sentencing at all time” (Griffiths, 2014 pg. 312). The circle sentencing gives communities a way of exercising their problem solving skills to hopefully help solve the underlying reasons for crime in their community (Griffiths, 2014 pg. 312). There is some concern that victims may be revictimized by the use of circle sentencing (Griffiths, 2014 pg. 318) so cases should be evaluated for
The criminal justice system fails to acknowledge the recovery of the victims of crime and as such delivers justice only with the community in mind and not the individual victim "Advocates of restorative justice do not dispute the need to sanction or punish offenders; rather, they maintain that punishment alone may not be sufficient for victims ' healing and justice." (RJ Online). There are programs available to support the victims of crime but they are found outside of the criminal justice system and rarely include reconciliation with the offender. The restorative justice method attempts to involve the victim in the criminal justice system process in a way that will bring understanding and healing, “The primary objectives of restorative justice are to fully address the needs of the victims of crime and to prevent reoffending by reintegrating offenders back into the community” (Griffiths, 2014 pg. 308). The traditional justice system is preoccupied with prosecuting crimes “… will make decisions solely on the evidence, not subject to any other influence” (Griffiths, 2014 pg. 28) instead of attempting to recognize the importance of the rehabilitation of offenders.
The use of restorative justice can be used at many different points during the criminal justice system. Restorative justice can begin even before an offender is officially charged with a crime and can continue right …show more content…
Circle sentencing allows community residents, victims, and offenders to come together with members of the justice system to resolve conflicts. All parties involved sit facing each other in a circle and discuss the possible resolutions for the crime that has occurred (Griffiths, 2014 pg. 312). All parties involved in circle sentencing must consent to being bound by the findings of the process used but the judge does not abandon jurisdiction over the matter, “Note that judges are not bound by the recommendations of a sentencing circle and maintain control over sentencing at all time” (Griffiths, 2014 pg. 312). The circle sentencing gives communities a way of exercising their problem solving skills to hopefully help solve the underlying reasons for crime in their community (Griffiths, 2014 pg. 312). There is some concern that victims may be revictimized by the use of circle sentencing (Griffiths, 2014 pg. 318) so cases should be evaluated for