Restorative Justice: Should it be Allowed?

By Kendrick Tran

Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-career-within-you/201408/restorative-justice-or-punitive-justice

Restorative justice, what exactly is this new up and coming tool in modern victimology and criminology? This interested me because I had read an article describing restorative justice as an alternative solution if all parties were willing to work things out. Since my interest was piqued, I decided to do a little research on what exactly this is and how it affects the field of criminal justice. 

According to the Center for Justice & Reconciliation at Prison Fellowship International, the definition of restorative justice comes along the lines of a theory of justice that focuses on repairing the harm done by the crime and is accomplished by having all parties involved go through a cooperative process to sort things out. This theory of justice differentiates itself from traditional criminal justice in many ways. First, with this theory, it does not define crime as just breaking the law, but recognizes that the offenders harm victims, relationships, and the community. An example of this would be if I robbed a friend of mine. Not only did I affect my friend in a negative way, but also his family because they would have feared for his safety. Secondly, it includes not only the person who committed the crime but also the victims and community in which they were a part of. Finally, the measure of success differs because it focuses on how much was fixed rather than the amount of punishment inflicted.

Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog
/the-career-within-you/201408/restorative-justice-or-punitive-justice

Restorative justice not only differs in the ways mentioned above, but also in how the process is conducted. Meetings with the offender and victims are common in this practice. During these meetings, there is a mediator present in a safe and structured meeting and the victim is allowed to have discussions ranging from the crime's impact and a plan to make it as best that it can. Essentially, the practice allows both parties, if willing, to discuss plans to make amends. This theory seems to emphasize that if forgiven, the crime is essentially okay. Now that is a bold statement, however, with that said, this does have its own implication. If a person were to murder somebody cold-blooded just for pure enjoyment, then restorative justice does not really apply here considering it would outrage the community and the offended, both of which need to have to want to make amends.

In current contrast with our modern judicial system, that is most certainly not the case. Crime is dependent on "breaking the law" and breaking the law has consequences, i.e punishments. Restorative justice is interesting in the fact that it is employed in numerous areas all across the country and is even present as a solution in some cases in court. For myself, I do not know if I feel strongly one way or the other, but by providing alternative solutions for victims, we are moving one step closer to understanding why crime is done and how to prevent it in the future. 

Works Cited

"What Is Restorative Justice?" (n.d.): n. pag. What Is Restorative Justice. Center for Justice & 

Reconciliation at Prison Fellowship International, May 2005. Web.