Punitive Justice Vs Restorative Justice Reform Article Review

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Policy Article AnalysisIntroductionThe criminal justice system in America is impacted by class, race, and gender issues that affect and can be affected by policy decisions (Barak et al., 2018). One particularly policy issue deals with reform of the system, and how restorative justice can be used instead of punitive justice, to help create better integration between minorities and socio-economically challenged offenders and the wider community. This paper discusses the idea of a restorative justice policy in terms of how it could affect class, race, and gender inequities, based on the article “Civic Implications of Restorative Justice Theory: Citizen Participation and Criminal Justice Policy” by Dzur (2003).Restorative Justice and Its Policy ImplicationsRestorative justice is the idea that justice can be served via restitution paid by the offender. It stands in contrast to punitive justice, which focuses on punishing the offender (typically with imprisonment) but does little to nothing in terms of restoring what was taken from the community as a result of the offense. In restorative justice, the offender is given an opportunity to make restitution, for example, through some community service, and the victim and community can feel satisfied that the offense has been rectified, the offender rehabilitated, and justice served (Dzur, 2003). The overall policy aim is to reduce incarceration and recidivism rates while also addressing the disparities in class, race and gender as they relate to crime and punishment. This non-punitive approach to justice has its historical roots in humanism.Historical PerspectiveThe idea of restorative justice goes back to the Mennonite Central Committee’s victim-offender mediation projects in Kitchener, Ontario, and Elkhart, Indiana (Chiste, 2013). These early forays into restorative justice were motivated by religious and reformist principles, but over time the idea took on a social justice dimension, too, in order to address lingering issues of inequity in class, race, and gender (Payne & Welch, 2015; Kim, 2021; Willis, 2020). Restorative justice has been supported theoretically and practically as a reform policy in criminal justice, due to its ability to reduce recidivism rates among offenders and appease victims better than punitive justice approaches (Kim, 2021; Turner, 2019). It also appeals to reforms due to its potential for reducing the costs associated with imprisonment and alleviating the social consequences of traditional punitive measures??, like father or mother absence, and undermining of minority populations (Dzur, 2003).Historically, restorative justice has offered an alternative to the punitive measures that disproportionately affect lower socioeconomic classes (Willis, 2020). Traditional punitive systems have been linked to class disparities due to the fact that economically disadvantaged offenders tend to face harsher penalties such as longer sentences since they have limited capital for top-tier legal representation.

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Restorative justice, on the other hand, takes a different approach to justice by focusing on reparations made to the community and the victim rather than punitive measures; the offender is not separated from the community but instead is obliged to create stronger ties and bonds with the community through some service—and this manner class disparities and social equity are not worsened and can be actually improved (Willis, 2020).The racial implications of restorative justice are also interesting, since…

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…should also be some gender awareness aspect in policy that considers the needs of female offenders and victims from a restorative justice approach.Likewise, increasing the public’s engagement in and awareness of restorative justice programs, outcomes, and processes could go a long way towards making an impact on social attitudes about the criminal justice system’s reliance on punitive approaches. There could be public education campaigns, supported by policy, that raise awareness of the benefits of restorative justice, referring to recent evidence in scholarly research, that can build support for such non-punitive reform. Gaining public participation in the criminal justice system would be a big first step in reforming the justice system (Dzur, 2003).Bringing restorative justice into the mainstream criminal justice system will help to reduce incarceration rates and promote social justice because it is ultimately a pro-social approach to criminal justice thanks to its community-minded focus.Overall, restorative justice is a reform-based approach and an alternative to traditional punitive measures in the criminal justice system. It focuses on reconciliation, integration, satisfaction of justice through community involvement and service. Restorative justice policies can be used to address the problems related to issues of class, race, and gender that are found throughout the system. The historical and current perspectives of restorative justice show its potential in creating more equitable justice for offenders and better satisfaction for victims and communities. Future policies should seek to expand restorative justice programs and practices to help bring fairness into the system and solve some of the disparities that result from punitive approaches, such as mother and father….....

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