The Goals of Restorative Justice

According to the textbook "Juvenile Delinquency, The Core". The goals of restorative justice involve turning the justice system into a recuperating system, rather than a form of retaliation. (Eye for an eye). I think this is a good idea, because you can't just be throwing everyone, especially those who do not commit that serious of a crime into jail. There are other options to rehabilitate an offender.

The restorative process wishes to attempt to address the issues causing conflict, rather than treat one person in a crime situation as the victim and the other as the criminal. Instead of choosing whom to punish, society should put more effort into reconciling the parties involved. Restorative justice is based on a social rather than legal perspective of delinquency. The viewpoint of restorative justice is that relationships that become damaged due to delinquent acts are only treatable in less formal, and more bonding social groups. For example, families, as well as communities.

There are a number of origins when it comes to this philosophy. These origins include negotiation, mediation and peacemaking. These origins have been proven beneficial in Europe and Asian communities for centuries. Native American, in addition to Native Canadian people have for a long period of time now used the participation of community member's in the sentencing process. (Sentencing circles panels of elders). If proven beneficial in other places of the world, why not try it more in the U.S.

Members of the peacemaking movement have also perfected the use of non punitive alternatives to justice. A man named Gordon Bazelmore, as well as other policy experts helped create a version of restorative justice known as the "balanced approach". The balanced approach stresses that victims, offenders and the community should all benefit from interactions with the justice system. This method attempts to bring together community protection and the rights of victim's. To avoid the negative effects of punishment, restorative justice programs for juvenile offenders mostly involve deferred court processes, as well as reconciliation between the offenders and the victims. In addition, in order to avoid the negative effects of punishment, victim advocacy, mediation programs, and sentencing circles, in which crime victim's and their family's join together to produce a sanction which emphasizes the needs of each party involved, are included.

Balanced probation is another form of restorative justice. This type of restorative justice is based on the perspective that juvenile offender's are responsible for their action's and will have no obligation to society when they commit an offense. The probation officer tailors a custom fit program based on the offender to achieve the maximum outcome. Also the probation officer ensures that the offender will hold responsibility for their crimes. This program is beneficial because it holds a distinctive role for the juvenile probation system. One promising program that adheres to an equalized probation approach is the "California 8% Solution". The Orange County Probation department runs this program. The 8% applies to the range of juvenile offender's who are responsible for the majority of crime. In the case of Orange county, 8 percent of the first time offender's were responsible for 55 percent of repeat cases over a 3 year time frame. Once a probation officer identifies an offender for the "8% Early Intervention Program", the youth offender is then referred to the "Youth and "Family Resources Center". At this point the needs of the youth are evaluated and appropriate treatment is rendered. Examples of services that the Youth and Family Services program offer's are 1) An outside school for student's in junior and senior high school, 2) Transportation to and from home, 3) Counseling for drug abuse, 4) Employment preparation and job placement services, 5) At home, intensive family counseling for families. Although "balanced probation" is still in infancy stages, and their effects remain to be tested, they have developed great interest because of their potential for relieving the overcrowding in jail's and prisons. It has also proven to reduce the pain and effects of incarceration. Due to the overall outcome of the program, it shall not deem surprising for the rise in its use for the future. There are many more resources to a juvenile on the outside of the criminal justice system, in the hands of a probation officer, for example, then the inside of a jail cell, in order to prevent future similar situations and to redirect someone to a more positive future.

Restitution is an additional form of restorative justice. Victim restitution is a widely used method of community therapy. In most jurisdictions, restitution is part of a deferred sentence and is administered by the county probation staff. Restitution can take several forms. A juvenile offender can reimburse the victim of the crime, or donate money to a charity or public cause, known as "Monetary Restitution". A juvenile may even be required to provide some service directly to the victim. This is known as "Victim Service Restitution". Juveniles in addition may be required to assist a community organization, known as "Community Service Restitution". Requiring youths to reimburse the victims of their crimes is the most widely used method of restitution in the U.S. Restitution has numerous advantages to it. For example, it provide alternative sentencing options. It offer's compensation, or service to victims. It allows the juvenile the opportunity to compensate the victim, in addition to becoming a respectable and productive member of society. It relieves the overcrowded juvenile courts, probation caseloads, and detention facilities. Monetary restitution may improve the public's attitude toward juvenile justice by offering equity to the victims of crime, while ensuring that offender's take responsibility for their action's. In conclusion restoration has the overall potential for the allowance of vast savings in the operation of the juvenile justice system. As to the success of restitution, Peter Schneider and his associates found that 95% of youths that received restitution as their punishment, along with probation successfully completed their orders.

A lot of experts have shown that institutionalism of even the most delinquent youths is a mistake. Confinement can not usually solve the problems that brought about a youth into a delinquent life. The experience of the prison system may actually amplify the delinquency, once the juvenile return to the community. It is stated that may agree that warehousing juveniles without attending to their treatment does little to prevent their return to criminal activity.

There are community corrections in order to rehabilitate an offender. Examples of this would be "Group Homes". Here there is counseling, education training and a family living. They are staffed by a small number of qualified people and generally house twelve to fifteen youths. The institutional aspect is minimized and the kids are given the chance to build a close relationship with the staff. This will coach them in the proper way of conducting themselves.

Another example is a "Foster Care Program". This program involves tow juveniles who live with a family, which usually consist of a husband and a wife. The couple usually serves as surrogate parental figures. The juveniles enter into a close relationship with the couple and receive attention that they may have not had with in their prior living arrangement. The quality of the living arrangement would depend entirely upon the foster parents (husband and wife). While not commonly used in the U.S, foster homes have expanded as a type of therapeutic rehabilitation. An example of a foster home that is successful is the multidimensional treatment foster care program, a.k.a. "MTFC". The "MTFC" was developed by social scientist at the Oregon Social Learning Center. Designed for the most serious and chronic juvenile offender's, this program combines individual therapy, such as skill building in problem solving for youths, who aren't sure how to handle obstacles that come up in their lives. It also provides family therapy for the biological or adoptive parents. The foster care families receive training by the staff of the "MTFC" program so that they can provide youths with close supervision, fair and consistent limits, consequences, as well as a supportive relationship with an adult role model. An experiment of "MTFC" showed that one year after the completion of the program, participating children were significantly less likely to be arrested, then in a control group.

There are also foster group homes, which combine elements of foster care and group home placements. Juveniles are placed in a group home that is ran by a family rather than a staff. Troubled youths have the chance to learn to get along in a family situation, and to improve their social skills at the same time. The state does not charge the start up cost with this program that is usually required for the establishment of a public institution, which is beneficial.

As Jurisdictions continue to be faced with the constantly increasing cost for the juvenile justice services, community based programs, which is a part of restorative justice remember, will play an important role in providing rehabilitative services to juvenile offender's, in addition to public safety.

Resources:
"Juvenile Justice, The Core, "Second Edition", Larry J. Siegel, Brandon C. Welsh