Is it time to return to the ideology of the African proverb that “it takes a village to raise a child” by adopting alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques such as circle conferencing or other restorative justice options to deal with youths that are in conflict with the law? The example of the Collaborative Justice Program is used to illustrate the usage of restorative justice option within the court system. Introduction Despite the various sociological and/or criminological studies conducted on young offenders proving that punitive measures are not effective in reducing the recidivism rate of this marginalized group, along with the creation of government policies to help reduce the prevalence of youth crime, this moral panic about youth violence still remains a politically charged issue
Comment [p1]: This exercise is evaluated on two criteria. First, the student may receive 50% of the points possible right up front through how they formulate their question. Points I consider are: • Does this question assume an analytic or descriptive posture? • How well is it related to the content and spirit of the course? • Does the question address theoretical, methodological, and institutional concerns? o What about links between or across these areas? • Is the question “doable” i.e., is there a framework through which they could arrive at a complete answer?
within Canadian society. In order to better address the issues and factors that contribute to the perceived prevalence of youth crime as well as the actual rates of youth criminality, all implicated parties – young offenders, victims, parents, and the general community – need to be encouraged to employ conflict resolution techniques that empower all parties concern to find individualized solutions to the conflicts between youths and other members of the society. It is paramount that those who are actually affected by youth crime have the opportunity and a forum to determine and create a personalized resolution agreement rather than a court imposed solution. If we develop this perspective we are better able to design social intervention programs that are more in tune with the real needs of young offenders. Their needs include not only their basic physical needs such as food, shelter, and education but also their psycho-social needs such as positive self-identity, self-worth and the need to have a sense of belonging. Definition of Crime The actions that are classified as criminal changes over time and these acts are sanctioned in different ways in certain societies thus resulting in different incarceration rates for both adult
Comment [p2]: Substantive comments are then made based on: • How well the student organizes their response to their question o Strong structural elements Solid introduction Use of “Sign Posting” to help guide the reader Definitions of key concepts Link to, or relevance for, current issues and debates in the field. o Flow of argument Transitions and restatements
and youths in various countries (Christie, 2004). Louk Hulsman (1986) espouses the same idea by stating that “crime is an ontological realityâ€? ‌ [and] [c]riminalisation is one of the many ways of constructing social reality"; therefore, as more societal conflicts are defined as crimes, there are increasing rates of crimes and criminals (as cited in Lea, 1993, p. 34-35). The definition youth crime, the youth crime rate and the rate of incarceration of young offenders are social constructs that are impacted by government policies advocating punitive sanctions, the dissolution of social welfare programs; the perceived war on crime and the perceived fear of crime by the populace (SOCI 263/B class notes). Consequently, current research on crime, the classification of criminals and how crime data is collected are all impacted by the existing political and social construction of crime (SOCI 263/B class notes). The Restorative Justice Approach The restorative justice approach uses the a variety of mediation techniques or principles such as family group conferencing, victim-offender reconciliation programs, circle sentencing and judicial mediation which are defined as alternative dispute resolution options within or as an adjunct to the traditional judicial system. The anascopic perspective that is advocated by Hulsman (1986) endorses a return to a bottom up community based grass roots approach to the management of crime or social conflict, this viewpoint is similar to the transformative justice model that promote the removal of the control of the state over the community to solve interpersonal conflicts (Lecture by J. Kilty, March 2006). Ideally, this would be the better option because this fully returns the control back to the victim, the offender and community; thus the triad is then fully empowered to resolve their own conflicts without the direct interference of the traditional criminal justice system. Alas, most restorative justice programs cannot survive without funding of the government so there is still direct influence by the criminal justice system.
Unlike, the traditional criminal justice system that looks only at the criminal act, the anascopic perspective focuses on all concerned with the view to solving both the immediate issue and impacting long term social change to bring about a better society. The restorative justice approach reflects the anascopic view by having a future oriented perspective that demonstrates that conflict resolution can be accomplished outside the direct mandate of the criminal justice system (Lecture by J. Kilty, March 2006). Both perspectives engender the empowerment of all concerned by responding the needs of the victim, the offender and the community by giving them an opportunity to ask questions and be heard. The Collaborative Justice Program’s mandate is to assist those affected by crime using a restorative justice approach and its aim to support and facilitate information sharing, safety, accountability, reparation, reintegration and healing for individuals directly affected by crime— victims, offenders and the community (CJP website, 2005). The CJP’s primary goal is to offer a service that complements the existing court trial process as it unfolds by assisting victims and offenders implicated in minor and/or serious crimes to mutually determine a resolution agreement that created by both parties rather than imposed by professionals within the criminal justice system. The caseworker facilitates dialogue between both parties to ensure that their concerns are relayed, and assists with court proceedings by accompanying victims/offenders to throughout the court proceedings (personal communication, January – April 2007). In the early days of the program, there was greater political support of the restorative justice alternative in cases involving serious crimes. Consequently, the majority of cases processed through CJP were more serious crimes such as armed robbery, aggravated assault, impaired driving and impaired driving causing death. The support for CJP’s services and viewpoints at the federal and provincial level as diminished significantly in the last few years as
the political agenda of the government has focused more and more on a retributive model of justice. The current social and political climate of the Conservative government has impacted negatively on the services that can be offered and the population served. As a result of budgetary constraints due to lack of government funding, there is in distinct shift to serving youths involved in less serious crimes despite the fact that the original mission of CJP was to apply a restorative justice approach in dealing with serious crimes. The focus on youth cases has also resulted in cases dealing with minor offences such as simple assault, assault causing bodily harm, theft under $5000 and property damage. The Effectiveness of the Restorative Justice Approach The philosophy and principles of the Youth Criminal Justice Act promotes and fosters a community based approach in line with the tenets or ideology of restorative justice that seeks implement concrete ways involve youths, families, communities and the actors in the criminal justice system to prevent youth crime, address the deeper reasons why youths engage in crime and providing support and guidance while responding to the genuine needs of young offenders (The Youth Criminal Justice Act Handout). In line with the sentencing principles of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the Ministry of Children and Youth Services is the largest funding source for CJP. The organization has benefited monetarily because it is a unique form of alternative dispute resolution option that focus on reducing the stigmatization, criminalization and recidivism rates of youths or adults by emphasising accountability rather than blame. In addition, the CJP has been empirically proven to be effective in demonstrating that conflict resolution can be accomplished outside the mandate of the traditional criminal justice system (Rugge, Bonta & Wallace-Capretta, 2005). Despite the study of Rugge et al (2005), I was told that that staff members are not as effective as they had been in the past because some youths do not have the
level of maturity required to accept responsibility for their actions with the attendant desire to repair the harm and make amends (Kimberly Mann & Tiffani Murray, personal communication, March 2007). I think that this not an indictment about the effectiveness of the restorative justice approach in dealing with youth crime but rather that better screening need to be done as well as more specialized programs need to be developed that is specifically aimed at a youth target market. For example, an evaluation of the St. Leonard’s Society of London (Ontario) concludes that the agency was effective in diverting a large percentage of young offenders from the traditional justice system which is aligned with the objectives of the YCJA (Olivo et al, 2007). This is a community based provider that offers pre and post-charge extrajudicial sanctions to young offenders that includes sentencing circles, family group conferences and community service hours (Olivo et al, 2007). A national evaluation of 46 restorative justice projects by the Youth Justice Board in England and Wales concludes that 83% of the participants (6800 youths) completed the intervention process; 63% of the young offenders were at the early stage of their criminal activity which could have the greatest chance of reducing future recidivism and that young offenders who had a chance to meet their victims were least likely to be convicted for future crimes and if the youth is convicted of a new crime, this crime is less serious than the crime for which the youth was originally convicted while participating in the restorative justice project. (Wilcox & Hoyle, 2004). Thus restorative justice options are an important weapon in the fight to reduce youth crime and future recidivism among young offenders.
Conclusion The illicit acts of disenfranchised members of a society are often deemed as criminal and therefore subjected to criminal sanctions, consequently, there are “no natural limits” to crime or incarceration rates as long as the crimes of the powerless is used as a form of population control (Christie, 2000, p. 191). There is an urgent need to redefine the functioning of our current criminal justice system to incorporate radical criminal justice policies that promote the redefinition of what is a crime and who is harmed in the commission of a crime. Our current legal system places the state and the criminal justice system professionals in the primary role in the dispensation of justice; we need to adopt a new paradigm of justice that empowers the complainant, accused and the larger community in resolving issues of interpersonal conflict. The restorative justice approach needs to permeate all aspects of the criminal justice rather than being regulated to the sidelines. In addition, to the usage of the restorative justice approach to help resolve cases involving youths in conflict with the law, it is imperative to increase the social bonds within families and communities, reduce child poverty, strengthen the educational system and incorporate the real needs of youths in the creation and implementation of social policies (crime prevention). It is equally important to train well-informed youth service providers and provide effective community-based services and programs target the real actual needs of youths by providing outreach services within the community (effective youth crime policy).
Comment [p3]: I look for an analytic Conclusion that offers more than a simple restatement of the previous paragraphs. Points to consider: • Does the student offer a recapitulation of themes established earlier in the essay? • Is there any assessment or critique of the perspective the student has adopted? o Are alternative perspectives acknowledged and addressed? • Are their proscriptive elements? o Future research o Additional questions that emerge from this discussion o Links or possible connections to other areas of the discipline Interdisciplinarity?
References Bell, S. J. (2003). Young Offenders and Juvenile Justice: A Century after the Fact. (2nd ed.). Scarborough, ONT: Thomson Nelson. Bernard, T. J. (2008). Howard S. Becker. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from Encyclopaedia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9343977 Collaborative Justice Program (2005). Retrieved May 24, 2007 from http://www.collaborativejustice.ca/ Christie, N. (2000). Crime Control as Industry: Towards Gulags Western Style. (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge. Christie, N. (2004). A Suitable Amount of Crime. New York: Routledge. Finkelstein, M. (2005). With No Direction Home - Homeless Youth on the Road and in the Streets. Toronto, ON: Thomson Wadsworth. Lea, J. (1993). Criminology and Post Modernism. Retrieved April 30, 2008 from http://www.bunker8.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/misc/pmod.htm Olivo, L. M., Cotter, R., Bromwich, R. (2007). Youth and the Law: New Approaches to Criminal Justice and Child Protection. (2 ed.). Toronto (ONT): Emond Montgomery Publications Ltd. Rugge, T., Bonta. J & Wallace-Capretta, S. (2005). Evaluation of the Collaborative Justice Project: A Restorative Justice Program for Serious Crime 2005-02. Retrieved May 24, 2007 from http://ww2.ps-sp.gc.ca/publications/Corrections/cjp/cjp_toc_e.asp Shoemaker, D. J. (2005). Theories of Delinquency: An Examination of Explanations of Delinquent Behaviour. (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. Wilcox, A., & Hoyle, C. (2004). Restorative Justice Projects: The National Evaluation of the Youth Justice Board's Restorative Justice Projects. Retrieved April 29, 2008, from http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingoffenders/workingoffenders52.ht m
Comment [p4]: I pay close attention to the use of citations in their answer. At a minimum, I exoect students to: • Cite consistently • Use assigned materials from the class • Other citations are judged by: o Currency and relevance o Diversity of sources Interdisciplinary? o Creativity of item cited Multi-media, webcontent?
See note p1
See notes p2 –p4
Evaluation
(B+)
25% mechanics and thoroughness
25% answer to question
See notes p2 –p4
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PP 50
PE 35
Quality
Comments
Solid question, perhaps too specific
You make it sound like it is a one way street with the adoption of ADR principles being completely on the responsibility of the Courts (“System”). However, I think this misses the reflexive relationship between the justice system and the community within which it operates. In your discussion you talk about these community based approaches, but you fail to capture that in your question. It may be that your question was too narrowly focused. A nice job overall answering your question. You cover the basics concepts nicely. I would have liked to have seen a more formal discussion about the principles of ADR and Restorative Justice (See Olivo, ch. 12) I think that because of the type of exercise this is, there is a tendency for students to reverse engineer their answers, i.e., you know where you want to go so you skip some potentially foundational steps. Specific points: core principles of ADR would have value added before getting into particular varieties or programmes. In addition, it is worth tracing the origins and history of ADR (especially as it relates to youth and links to minority communities) Good citations. I was surprised not to see the reports I shared with you from the Law Commission of Canada. Also, conclusion could be stronger. What are the political realities and future of ADR? You also fail to provide any critique of ADR? The most persuasive that comes to mind is Braithwaite’s (2002) Restorative Justice & Responsive Regulation examining the role of the professional mediator within a legal tradition/system. He cites others critiques that role ambiguity can lead to conflict: mediators are first and foremost agents of justice. Only after this duty has been met should questions of conflict resolution be addressed. “…the restoration of harmony based on injustice makes mediation a tool of domination” (251)
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Nice Job! Pay attention to definitions and links
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Solid job, careful of reverse engineering