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... ... middle of paper ... ...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
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...
Restorative Justice is a new way of thinking about and responding to crime, especially in relation to youth offending. For the past decade, especially, there has been an increasing interest in new approaches towards criminal justice in general but more so in terms of juvenile delinquency and finding an appropriate form of punishment to escape the labelling of youth delinquency, which involve the community and focus much more on the victim.
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
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.
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.
Over the years, the traditional criminal justice system has emphasized offenders’ accountability through punishment and stigmatization. The emphasis on the retributive philosophy made it challenging for the system to meaningfully assist and empower crime victims. In the criminal justice system, victims often face insensitive treatment with little or no opportunity for input into the perseverance of their case and report feeling voiceless in the process used (Choi, Gilbert, & Green, 2013:114). Crime Victims, advocates, and practitioners have called for an expansion of victims’ rights and community-based alternatives rather than punishment-orientated justice policies. What victims want from the criminal justice system is a less formal process, more information about case processing, respectful treatment, and emotional restoration. Therefore, there is a growing need to progress towards the restorative justice (RJ) system.
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
Walgrave, Lode. Restorative justice for juveniles: potentialities, risks and problms for research : a selection of papers presented at the international conference Leuven, May 12-14, 1997. Leuven: Leuven University Press, 1998.
June/July 21-26. Eldelfonso, Edward. A. Law Enforcement and the Youth offenders: Juvenile Procedures. New York: Wiley, 1967. Hyde, Margaret O. & Co.
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
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...
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.