Restorative Justice Approach
Write a 300-word journal response that addresses the following questions:
To what degree do your personal and professional views of justice align with the restorative justice approach?
If you were the victim of a crime, would you support a restorative justice approach? Why or why not?
Support your perspective with references to the readings.
Learning Resources:
Armour, M. (2012). Restorative justice: Some facts and historyLinks to an external site.. Tikkun, 27(1), 25–65.
Beitsch, R. (2016, July 21). Finding responsibility, reconciliation after a crimeLinks to an external site.. Stateline.
Boslaugh, S. E. (2019). Restorative justiceLinks to an external site.. In Salem Press encyclopedia.
Centre for Justice and Reconciliation. (2019b). Lesson 4: Conceptual issuesLinks to an external site.. In Tutorial: Introduction to restorative justice.
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (n.d.-a). Balanced and restorative justice philosophyLinks to an external site.. In Guide for implementing the balanced and restorative justice model.
National Association of Community and Restorative Justice. (n.d.). Restorative justice policy and legislationLinks to an external site..
MettaCenter. (2018, August 13). A new story of justice: Nonviolence and restorative justiceLinks to an external site. [Video file].
National Institute of Corrections. (n.d.). Victim offender dialogueLinks to an external site. [Video file].
TEDx. (2017, April 24). Judge Sheila D. J. Calloway: Forgiveness in the criminal justice systemLinks to an external site. [Video file].
Restorative Justice
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Institution
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Instructor’s Name
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Restorative Justice
The Degree to Which My Personal and Professional Perspective Align with Restorative Justice
In the judicial system, there exist diverse ways of ensuring that justice gets served appropriately to offenders, victims, and communities at large. One such approach to achieving the same is restorative justice. This refers to repairing harm by providing an opportunity for offenders and victims to engage and discuss their collective needs in the aftermath of a crime (Beitsch, 2016). The human services profession entails helping people in vulnerable situations. For instance, we help people battling drug abuse, mental or physical illnesses, and poverty, among others. Undoubtedly, most of these people inadvertently find themselves on the wrong side of the law primarily due to their situations. For example, a drug addict may easily engage in petty or even armed robbery to feed their indulgencies. If it were not for their prevailing addiction, one could argue that they would not dare break the law. That said, such people should receive a fair chance to be reintegrated into society by centrally focusing on correcting them within the confines of meaningful engagements. This, in essence, means that my personal and professional perspectives regarding justice align with restorative justice to monumental proportions. One of the fundamental reasons I fully support restorative justice is its capacity to significantly reduce reoffending. In addition, it creates a friendly environment that helps petty offenders avoid jail (Beitsch, 2016). This is usually achieved when offenders meet their victims to discuss how they can make things right. Moreover, restorative justice is applicable in all stages of criminal justice, which means it encompasses adults and youth. In short, the approach is an ideal way of helping offenders and victims live h...