TAKING RESTORATIVE ACTION TO MAKE JUSTICE MORE JUST.
By Bob Myers.
Magistrates have sometimes ordered offenders to clean up the streets if they are found guilty of making a mess. This could be a wonderful step towards restorative justice, which operates from the perspective that both the offender and the victim are valued members of the community. Hopefully this sort of sentencing will one day be the consequence of many offences so we see offenders removing graffiti, repairing playgrounds, replacing letterboxes and replanting trees.
But that is only one half of restorative justice. The whole idea of restorative justice is to 'put things right again'; to restore conditions to what they were before the event. There are two parts to this; the tangible and the intangible. The tangible is any physical or material damage, the intangible is the emotional or social damage resulting from the behaviour; not only the damage to the victim but also to the perpetrator. It isn't possible to do harm to others without doing harm to yourself. It isn't possible to put things right again without repairing the damage to both.
The present system puts so much emphasis on an offence being against the law that we tend to lose sight of the fact that it is really an offence against a person or a group of people. In a democracy, every individual is important, with the ideal being that laws are made to ensure that safety and fairness is extended to everyone. Such a law provides for the physical security of people and at the same time says, "You are an important member of this community, just as important as any other person." Therefore, the breaking of such a law is saying the opposite. "You are not important and your needs are not worth considering." The intangible harm is real harm and to only restore the tangible damage will not remove the feeling of being violated, of somehow being demeaned.
Full restorative justice demands that intangible damage also be repaired. This is the crux of the demands made by those who say the needs of the victims are not being met by the criminal justice system. A person is convicted and punished for offending against the crown but the real damage was done to a person or group, not to the queen or the government.
Cynics scoff at comments like, "I never wanted money, all I wanted was an apology" but in many instances the intangible damage is repaired with a simple apology. The power of the word 'sorry' should never be underestimated and should not be uttered lightly or simply as a con job. An apology can repair relationships, and even strengthen one that a moment before seemed beyond repair. The need for connection between people is such that an apology can bring forgiveness for massive damage and, ironically, can even result in the victim feeling grateful to the offender for the apology.
Not only does the present system fail to meet the needs of victims; it also fails to meet the needs of the perpetrators. Little or nothing is done to remove the circumstances that led to the offending. Too many prisoners are not rehabilitated but go on to bigger crimes or to deeper drug use and eventual overdose. There are few winners in the criminal justice system, except maybe the operators of private prisons.
Restorative justice is more than a set of procedures, it is an attitude that, put simply, says to offenders, "You are responsible for whatever effect your behaviour has on other people and you will be expected to make good any harm you do to people or property." However, when the cost is too high for the individual, it is appropriate that the community foot the bill because the general community, through its general apathy, permissiveness and unfair social structures, is to a large degree responsible for the circumstances and attitude of the offender. That's the hard part for most of us to face up to.
But that is only one half of restorative justice. The whole idea of restorative justice is to 'put things right again'; to restore conditions to what they were before the event. There are two parts to this; the tangible and the intangible. The tangible is any physical or material damage, the intangible is the emotional or social damage resulting from the behaviour; not only the damage to the victim but also to the perpetrator. It isn't possible to do harm to others without doing harm to yourself. It isn't possible to put things right again without repairing the damage to both.
The present system puts so much emphasis on an offence being against the law that we tend to lose sight of the fact that it is really an offence against a person or a group of people. In a democracy, every individual is important, with the ideal being that laws are made to ensure that safety and fairness is extended to everyone. Such a law provides for the physical security of people and at the same time says, "You are an important member of this community, just as important as any other person." Therefore, the breaking of such a law is saying the opposite. "You are not important and your needs are not worth considering." The intangible harm is real harm and to only restore the tangible damage will not remove the feeling of being violated, of somehow being demeaned.
Full restorative justice demands that intangible damage also be repaired. This is the crux of the demands made by those who say the needs of the victims are not being met by the criminal justice system. A person is convicted and punished for offending against the crown but the real damage was done to a person or group, not to the queen or the government.
Cynics scoff at comments like, "I never wanted money, all I wanted was an apology" but in many instances the intangible damage is repaired with a simple apology. The power of the word 'sorry' should never be underestimated and should not be uttered lightly or simply as a con job. An apology can repair relationships, and even strengthen one that a moment before seemed beyond repair. The need for connection between people is such that an apology can bring forgiveness for massive damage and, ironically, can even result in the victim feeling grateful to the offender for the apology.
Not only does the present system fail to meet the needs of victims; it also fails to meet the needs of the perpetrators. Little or nothing is done to remove the circumstances that led to the offending. Too many prisoners are not rehabilitated but go on to bigger crimes or to deeper drug use and eventual overdose. There are few winners in the criminal justice system, except maybe the operators of private prisons.
Restorative justice is more than a set of procedures, it is an attitude that, put simply, says to offenders, "You are responsible for whatever effect your behaviour has on other people and you will be expected to make good any harm you do to people or property." However, when the cost is too high for the individual, it is appropriate that the community foot the bill because the general community, through its general apathy, permissiveness and unfair social structures, is to a large degree responsible for the circumstances and attitude of the offender. That's the hard part for most of us to face up to.
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