Rj City Case Study

RJ City Case Study

Restorative Justice is defined on-line as, "a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused or revealed by unjust behavior. Restoration is best accomplished through inclusive and cooperative processes" ("RJ City Project", 2006). Restorative Justice is an alternative to traditional court processes which rely more on conviction and punishment rather than rehabilitation of all parties involved, from the victim, offender, families of both and community leaders. The RJ City Case Study provides an example of how a criminal event can empower a community to solve its problem together by rehabilitating the victim and offender to rejoin society by feeling more confident and safe.

The example in the case study shows how the crime had effects to the community beyond harm to the immediate victim. Members of the community felt victimized due to a crime being committed so close to their residences. As fear spread through the neighborhood, residents did not feel safe in their homes. For example, the fear was evident in children, the son of the community leader stated if the bad people were going to come to their house and take his toys. The daughter of the victim was affected by having to visit more frequent to check on her mother and worst of all, worry if she is safe. There are countless examples of situations of how communities react to crimes. When crimes are committed, all people are affected one way or another.

Restorative Justice is not as common as contemporary criminal justice. The two methods are similar in serving the criminal justice system, but differ in the styles on how it deliveries its verdicts and resolutions. Its best describe on line," In traditional justice, we tend to ask the questions - what crime occurred, who did it, and how are we going to punish them? In Restorative Justice, we ask the questions - what harm occurred, who was involved (offenders, victims, community), and what must be done to repair the harm? Restorative justice is really a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm that's occurred - versus simply prosecuting someone who commits a crime. The victim and community, as well as the offender, are key players in the entire Restorative Justice process (Small, 2010). For example, In the RJ City Case Study, David and Ed did commit the same crime and were convicted. David admitted his guilt and chooses the Restorative Justice process and Ed denied his involvement and went with the traditional methods of the criminal justice system. David avoided jail time and was meet with a support staff which included his community leaders, his parents and family, the victim and her daughter and his baseball coach to rehabilitate his behavior. Ed was later found guilty of burglary and was sentenced to twelve months in a confined workshop. Ed did receive support throughout