Benefits Of Restorative Justice

Defining justice can be very complicated, everyone has their own distinct way of defining what justice is and how it should be applied throughout society. Some people believe that justice needs to be swift and harsh, to ensure change. While others believe in restorative justice is in order. Many institutions (Criminal justice, Education, Workplace Religious) are deciding to move from a solely punishments based form of justice, into more restorative justice practices. All though restorative justice has been around for many years, it is often not utilized, but has many benefits for the victim, offender, and the community. Contrary to popular belief restorative justice is not primarily about forgiveness or reconciliation nor is it designed to

While everyone’s ways of implementing justice can vary, for all intents and purposes, a simple definition of justice is; a concern for justice, peace and genuine respect for people. (dictionary.com) Criminal justice is effective in many ways, but often, it neglects the importance of the victims as well as the community. Criminal justice is believed the provide justice for the victim as well as the community, many times it only punishes the criminal. Restorative justice puts the emphasis on the victim, while criminal justice treats the state like the victim and as a result, the needs of the real victim are often ignored. Restorative justice focuses on all those involved whether implicitly or explicitly, thus promoting justice on a larger scale by trying to solve the problems of those involved and getting them what they deserve. Compared to criminal justice which only punishes the offender(s) and neglects the needs of others involved in the

An importance aspect of restorative justice, is the relationship the offender builds with the victim as well as the community. By not feeling ostracized within the community coupled with the fact that this process is voluntary, the offender is much more likely to not revert back to their old ways. And at the same time the community learns what to do differently in order to ensure that they don’t play a part in those actions happening