I chose to examine John Braithwaite and analyze his major theory on restorative justice and to a lesser extent, peacebuilding in fractured societies. I conducted internet research on Braithwaite and his theories. I found information regarding Braithwaite’s early life and progress into sociology to be scarce. I believe this is not uncommon when dealing with living and active persons who desire privacy in their private lives. Information in regards to Braithwaite’s work, however, is more than ample. Most of the material I used related to the Australian National University. I also read selections from studies done in peacebuilding. I found a fascinating mixture of hope and responsibility.
John Braithwaite is one of the foremost sociologists in the world today. His contributions to criminology and the social sciences are extensive. His theories have had a far-reaching effect on areas of governance and the criminal justice system. Braithwaite’s commitment to his science is nothing less than a commitment to eventual world peace. He is truly a man to be admired even for those who do not have an interest in the justice system. His dedication to a better world is an example we should all follow.
Braithwaite was born in Ipswich, Australia in 1951. He married his wife Valerie, whom he often collaborates with, in 1972, the same year he graduated from University of Queensland. Braithwaite graduated with a B.A. with a major in Psychology and honors in Anthropology and Sociology. In 1977 he received a Ph.D. in Sociology, also from the University of Queensland. He also has two children, Ben and Sari,(Braithwaite 2011) who occasionally participate in what has become a sort of family business. (Braithwaite 2008)
Braithwaite has authore...
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...ved from http://www.anu.edu.au/fellows/jbraithwaite/
Braithwaite, J. (1996 November 17). Restorative justice and a better future. Retrieved from http://www.iirp.org/article_detail.php?article_id=NDk4
Braithwaite, J. (2000 April). Standards for restorative justice. Retrieved from http://www.restorativejustice.org/10fulltext/braithwaite
Braithwaite, J. (2008, November 8). Restorative justice lecture. Podcast retrieved from http://www.anu.edu.au/fellows/jbraithwaite/lectures/index.php
Braithwaite, J. (2011 February) Curriculum vitae: John Bradford Braithwaite. Retrieved from http://www.anu.edu.au/fellows/jbraithwaite/cv/JohnBraithwaiteCV.pdf
McGarrell 2001----McGarrell, E. (2001 August). Restorative justice conferences as an early response to young offenders.OJJDP Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/jjbul2001_8_2/contents.html
Wormith, J. S., Althouse, R., Simpson, M., Reitzel, L. R., Fagan, T. J., & Morgan, R. D. (2007). The rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders: The current landscape and some future directions for correctional psychology. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34(7), 879-892.
The Youth Criminal Justice Act has many concerns creating inequalities in the restorative justice approach. For instance, juvenile delinquents who develop from a background that is impoverished may lack the ability to satisfy the reparative objectives of punishment and may not be ready to be reintegrated back into socie...
A growing number of probation officers, judges, prosecutors as well as other juvenile professionals are advocating for a juvenile justice system which is greatly based on restorative justice. These groups of people have been frustrated by the policy uncertainty between retribution and treatment as well as unrealistic and unclear public expectations. As a primary mission, the balanced approach or policy allows juvenile justice systems together with its agencies to improve in their capacity of protecting the community and ensuring accountability of the system and the offenders . It enables the youths to become productive and competent citizens. This guiding philosophical framework for this policy is restorative justice as it promotes the maximum involvement of the community, victim, and the offender in the justice process. Restorative justice also presents a viable alternative to sanctions as well as interventions that are based on traditional or retributive treatment assumptions. In the policy proposal for restorative justice, the balanced approach mission assists juvenile justice system in becoming more responsive to the needs of the community, victims, and the offenders . Therefore, this paper considers how restorative justice reduces referrals of juveniles to criminal and juvenile justice systems and gives a proposal on the implementation of restorative justice in the community together with a number of recommendations. For instance, preliminary research reveals that application of restorative justice in schools significantly reduces school expulsions, suspensions, and referrals to the criminal justice systems. Restorative justice programs are an alternative for zero-tolerance policies for juveniles or youths .
The governance of our present day public and social order co-exist within the present day individual. Attempts to recognize the essentiality of equality in hopes of achieving an imaginable notion of structure and order, has led evidence based practitioners such as Herbert Packer to approach crime and the criminal justice system through due process and crime control. A system where packer believed in which ones rights are not to be infringed defrauded or abused was to be considered to be the ideal for procedural fairness. “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” Thomas Jefferson pg 9 cjt To convict an individual because proper consideration was not taken will stir up social unrest rather then it’s initial intent, when he or she who has committed the crime is not punished for their doings can cause for a repetition and even collaboration with other’s for a similar or greater crime.
juvenile justice” (Elrod & Ryder, 2011) is to detour juvenile crimes and not be so easy on
With increased media coverage of violent juvenile behavior, legislators began to pass laws to toughen up on juvenile crime. Many laws made it easier to waive juveniles into adult courts, or even exclude juveniles who had committed serious crimes from juvenile court jurisdiction. Furthermore, the sentences to be handed out for offenders were lengthened and made much more severe. As a result, the juvenile courts began to resemble the adult courts. Yet, this movement’s influence began to fade, and by the turn of the century, another shift had occurred. In the current juvenile courts, a balanced approach is emphasized. While the court deals with chronic and dangerous offenders with a heavy hand, needy youth who need help to get back on track are still assisted under the parens patriae philosophy. Restorative justice has come to be the preferred method of today’s juvenile courts. In an overall sense, the modern juvenile court has taken on a paternalistic view similar to parens patriae towards youths who are in need of guidance, while punitively punishing offenders who do not respond to the helping hand extended to
June/July 21-26. Eldelfonso, Edward. A. Law Enforcement and the Youth offenders: Juvenile Procedures. New York: Wiley, 1967. Hyde, Margaret O. & Co.
Modern day criminology has been heavily influenced by the research and theories of many influencers from the 18th to 20th centuries. These theories and ideas have had a massive impact on how crime and punishment is dealt with in today’s society and come from many different important theorists such as Jeremy Bentham and Cesare Beccaria.
When it comes to “Balanced and Restorative Justice” (BARJ) the core principles are “ensuring community safety, insisting on offender accountability to victims and equipping offenders in the system with skills so they are able to pursue noncriminal paths after release” (pg. 287). With these principals the juvenile justice system can operate in a way that is in the best interest for juveniles and the community they are in. Although there are three main components of restorative justice, a fourth one can also be included because of the role it plays. The components are: the offender, the victim, and the community and juvenile justice professionals. The offender first has to be accountable for his/her actions, actively participates in rehabilitation
Barbara Sims &Pamela Preston, “Handbook of Juvenile Justice Theory and Practice” (2006),CRC Press ( pg.78-87)
A definitive goal of restorative conferencing is expanding the odds of the reintegration of victims and offenders into the community by reestablishing connectedness, lessening reoffending, and healing the victims’ harmed. Restorative conferencing stresses tending to such injustice acts in little ways as opposed to just giving offenders lawful or formal justice and victims with no justice by any stretch of the imagination (Bazemore & Schiff, 2001). Dignan and Cavadino (1996), describe restorative justice conferencing in four characteristics:
As time passes our juvenile justice system changes we are tending to focus on punishment rather than in rehabilitation. In the book Sister Janet was one of the few people that believed that the juveniles deserve to be treated normal and received positive s...
Since 2000, 20 investigations associated with the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act have been conducted involving 23 juvenile justice facilities in more than a dozen states (U.S. Department of Justice, 2007). Research consistently shows lower recidivism rates in the juvenile justice system than in the criminal justice system, but the likelihood of released youth or adults going on to lead crime-free lives is not high. Although it is very scant, data on recidivism rates among offenders released from state juvenile correctional facilities, gathered by the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (2005) from 33 states, revealed average recidivism rates as follows: rearrests (57%), reconvictions (33%), and re-incarceration
Johnstone, G. and Ness, D. (2007) Handbook of Restorative Justice. USA: Willan Publishing. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-big-question-what-are-the-alternatives-to-prison-and-do-they-work-419388.html [Accessed 01 January 2014].
I feel that I learned quite a bit throughout this semester in Juvenile Justice. It is interesting to me how much the juvenile justice system has changed both for the better and for the worse. From the time of the child savers to the get tough movement, which we are still experiencing, the entire system has shifted almost entirely. It began as a system of helping and not punishing and now has shifted to a system that severely lacks rehabilitation programs for juveniles. I have spoke, in my previous reaction papers, of what I would do to change the juvenile justice system – focusing strictly on the idea of rehabilitating juveniles to make them functioning members of our society. I firmly believe that in almost all cases, a child deserves a second chance and should be given appropriate treatment.