ipl-logo

Restorative Justice Victim-Oriented: A Case Study

1832 Words8 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Restoritive justice

1. Introduction I have always been interested in issue of victims’ rights and position of victims in criminal procedure. It became popular topic only recently and many scientific studies and researches appeared. This is in contrast with studies of offenders, which have been a field of interest for a very long time. This is the reason why I chose to critically discuss the essay topic of whether is restorative justice victim-oriented. As Johnstone noted ‘when a crime is committed, our principal question should not be: what should be done with the offender? Rather, it should be: what should be done for the victim? Moreover, the starting point, in answering this question, is what the victim actually wants to happen‘. Restorative justice claims to follow victims’ needs and see itself as victim-oriented, but is it true? There …show more content…

Later, in twelfth century, it was replaced by retributive model of justice, because states became stronger and took initiative in punishing offenders and focus on reconciliation between disputing parties fell away. Eventually, in nineteenth century, the victim turn out to be neglected, stopped playing an important role in criminal justice system and further was valued only as a witness. First academic interest in victim role rose in 1940s and scholars started examining the role of victim in their own victimization. First scholar who supported victims’ rights and claimed that their voice should be heard in criminal procedure, was a prison reformer Margery Fry. Later in 1970s further criticisms of traditional criminal justice system appeared, they observed that it fails to inform the victim about proceedings and that victims are basically neglected in criminal justice proceedings. This eventually led to growth of reluctance of victims to participate with the criminal justice

Show More
Related
849 Words | 4 Pages

This 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.

Read More
452 Words | 2 Pages

AJ 207 – Assign 7 1-To what extent do you see restorative justice practices meeting the philosophical goals of the juvenile justice system? Discuss specific features that do and do not correspond to the philosophy of the juvenile justice system? The extent that I see justice practices meeting the philosophical goals of the juvenile justice system has moved toward a retributive justice philosophy that gives punishment priority. The juvenile justice systems new approach is more of a balanced approach with a philosophical framework.

Read More
264 Words | 2 Pages

The response to criminal acts are determined by different factors in the restorative and retributive justice models; restorative justice focuses

Read More
673 Words | 3 Pages

Victim witness programs are used by the government in order to provide support and assistance to those who fall victim to a crime. According to Victim Witness Program, the primary goals of such programs, include but are not limited to, encouraging victims to participate in any parole and supervised release processes of their offender, notify and facilitate victims in participation of any hearing or release dates in regards to their offender, provide options for supportive services, and advocate for crime victims (2015, para.1). The organization under which the victim-witness program is located is under a system, which has many internal constituencies, thus creating competing and conflicting purposes. The goals of the victim-witness program are quite simple and seek out to give the victim the right to be represented during the processing of the offender, however, given the multiple roles the court, for example, must serve, the goals of the victim-witness program can be both complex and conflicting.

Read More
937 Words | 4 Pages

Victim 's right statute has influenced the manner within the federal, state, and local criminal justice systems. In addition to statutory victims ' rights, nearly two-thirds of the states have adopted amendments to their state constitutions guaranteeing rights to victims of crime. Including crime victims ' rights in state constitutions increased the strength, stability and enforceability of victims ' rights. Although there have been strides made, in many states and jurisdictions, victims still retain no rights to be present, informed and heard, and to have a voice in the sentencing process, or to be informed, present and heard during the paroling process. Precisely who does the law describes as a victim that is permitted to a certain right is defined by the federal, state, or tribunal code.

Read More
186 Words | 1 Pages

If one takes the penal code as an instrument for expressing the moral values and norms of society, interests of the criminal justice system have arguably increasingly been focused on the protection of society rather than the rehabilitation of the offender. Societies search for ways to support and empathise with victims, while morally condemning offenders for their acts, and the general feeling of justice tends to be satisfied only when strict sentences are distributed in serious criminal cases such as sex offenses and assaults. The penal code is seen as an instrument for expressing the moral values and norms of society, and protecting survivors through prosecution. Considering the above as important to society and therefore a survivor, the

Read More
719 Words | 3 Pages

Having empathy for the victim and being willing to change will have the trickledown affect as well, the offender will then realize what he or she is doing is and was wrong, which will stop them from committing crimes and they can teach their children, children within the community or just anyone who doesn’t have any remorse for committing crimes. The basis of restorative justice is the understanding of forgiveness, the willingness to believe that people can change if they truly wish to change and continual support of the offender in order to prevent similar future crimes from happening by showing them respect, hopefulness and that sometimes people are misguided, making mistakes and bad decisions. Using these principles offender can positively move forward in their lives not changing them for the better but also being equipped with the tools to

Read More
642 Words | 3 Pages

There 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,

Read More
1887 Words | 8 Pages

Next, prosecutions risk being supportive towards the victim of a crime due to victor’s justice. In court, juries and judges tend to feel more empathy for the victim over the accused criminal which can distort the truth in cases. Debatewise.org, an organization that debates serious world topics such as equality and world laws, proclaimed, “Judges also may be selective based on the lack of evidence or an overloaded justice system...” While this does seem extremely biased and unfair towards the defendant, that is because it is. This happens very often in court and can ruin

Read More
1160 Words | 5 Pages

4 Criticism and Challenges 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

Read More
1179 Words | 5 Pages

In an ordinary culture, the presence of justice is there in order to give criminals penalty and to encourage peace in the communities. The actual depiction is that criminals are being penalized yet; they are able to decrease the sentences set for them. During the course of this analysis, I will try to explain some justice theories as well as the practical view, present justice, and

Read More
808 Words | 4 Pages

The concept of punishment has recently demonstrated the lack of efforts to restore offenders and felons. Without the potential risks and the actual practice of punishment, the aim of social order can hardly be reached. Moreover, it is unfair to expect victims of illegal actions to cover the cost of their victimization. The current retributive justice system concentrates on punishment as the state where the victims of criminal acts and prisoners are considered in passive roles. Thus, the paper reviews the concepts developed within the punishment philosophy.

Read More
947 Words | 4 Pages

Crime victims have been affected by federal crimes such as rape, assault, in some states burglary and homicide. The Crime Victims’ Rights Act of 2004contains rights important in protecting the victim from the perpetrator, giving accurate and timely information about notifications on public court or complaint procedures, payments or compensations for the victims and witnesses (Doyle, 2008). A victim mainly seeks for justice, fairness, dignity and respect. Knowledge of these rights through the provided systems like the Victim and witness notifications is effective as it enables the victims to receive justice in the right and immediate time. It reduces pain since the victims are somehow assured of being addressed and their complaints resolved.

Read More
1457 Words | 6 Pages

The perception proposed by society, media influences and government alterations have helped to raise victim issues. Historically the first intervention occurred in the late 19th century. Gradually these changes have directed towards a more victim centred approach in acknowledging that victims have rights and necessities that ought to be fulfilled. The changes amongst the criminal justice system have undoubtedly been influenced by the issues raised by victim support agencies and other charitable organisations. Traditionally in the late 19th century offenders who committed robbery triggered of panics which ultimately persuaded parliament to introduce severe legislation.

Read More
723 Words | 3 Pages

While 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.

Read More

More about Restorative Justice Victim-Oriented: A Case Study

Open Document