Criminal Justive Vs Community Justice Essay Research

Criminal Justive Vs. Community Justice Essay, Research Paper

Crime is defined as an act or omission that the law makes punishable. There are different ways in dealing with crime. One, our current system, is the criminal justice approach. Also known as retributive justice, this system is more offender directed than anything else. The other system, which many people think is better, is the community justice, or restorative approach. The restorative approach is much more victim oriented. There is a debate over which system should be used to deal with crime. The two differ in many ways.

One of the areas in which the two differ is the question of whom is the crime a violation of? The criminal justice system believes that crimes are a violation against the state and are punished by the state. On the other hand, the community justice system says that crimes are a violation of the offender, and the community directly affected by it. The focus of criminal justice is retribution. It is focused on the offender and punishing that person for their crime by imprisonment and other punishments. The community justice system is focused on restoration. Community Justice looks to help the victim deal with the violation and try to get back whatever, if any, possessions were lost in the crime.

The proceedings, in which a resolution is made, are entirely different between the two. At a criminal justice proceeding, the case is tried by a state prosecutor, in front of a judge and decided by a jury. Other than testifying and possibly a victim impact statement, the victim does not have much say in the case. But in a community justice proceeding it is quite the opposite. All parties involved (which include the offender, the victim, both families, any other persons affected by the crime, and a mediator), come together to collectively resolve the offense and its implications for the future. This “coming together” may be one single event or may occur through a series of meetings, depending on the case. The mediator is trained with skills to prepare people for the process, and is there to ensure it progresses in a safe and civilized manner. The goals of the meetings are ensuring the satisfaction and well-being of the victim, with attention to his/her emotional needs, resolution of any lingering conflict between the victim and offender, and giving the offender a chance to absolve their feelings of guilt through apology and reparation. Looking toward the future, other steps taken at the proceeding are taking on offenders reasons for the crime, making a rehab plan, and the families agreement on a system of support to ensure the offender will adhere to the plan.

Under the retributive justice system, justice is achieved by finding out which law was broken, who broke it, and punishing the offender. The offender is then sentenced to repay the state for his/her crime against it by serving a sentence of some sort, usually in the form of jail or prison time. In the restorative system, justice is achieved by figuring the harm done, the repair s needed for the harm, and who should repair it. The offender is then accountable to the victim and the community. The state then has the responsibility to ensure that the offender is held accountable to the victim.

The offense is defined differently in the two systems. The criminal justice system defines crime legally. All offenses are written and should be strictly observed. While the community system defines crimes socially, again, finding the harm on a person or the community.

The offender, in either system, is indebted to someone. Under the criminal justice approach, the offender has committed a crime against the state and needs to pay fines or serve time to repay the state for his/her offense. Under the community justice approach, however, the victim is seen to have committed a crime against an individual and is indebted to that person and community affected.

The basis of the criminal system is of punishment. The theory behind this is that the threat of punishment will deter the crimes from being committed. It is that that the crime will not be worth the risk of being caught and having a punishment. Then, if a crime is committed, the execution of the punishment is used to hopefully change this criminal behavior. Although an offender may experience suffering in the process of taking responsibility and repairing harm, this system is not based on punishment. It is based, rather, on rehabilitation and restitution. The victim is hoped to be rehabilitated from the impact of the offense and paid back whatever possessions were lost. Also the offender is hoped to be rehabilitated. It is thought that he/she will see how this crime has affected the victim, and be given a chance to show their remorse, apologize and do whatever else is necessary to remedy the situation as best as possible.

Law enforcement and police have totally different roles and approaches under the two systems. Police are the gate keepers of the criminal justice system. They control, with discretion, who comes into the system. Their approach to crime is patrol, surveillance, and investigation. The impact of this on the community is mixed. Some look at it a “big brother” watching over everyone while others see it as a sense of security. In the community system, approach to crime would be less of a search for crime and more of investigating reports from victims. Pol