The economy plays a significant factor as to whether or not an offender can repay the victim back restitution (Karmen, 2015). The irony of this is that the economy is also a huge factor in why many of the crimes were committed in the first place (Karmen, 2015). The very foundation of restitution is based on an offender to have the ability to earn a living wage. This wage has to be sufficient to not only satisfy an adequate amount of restitution payments, but also maintain standard living expenses (Karmen, 2015). Another obstacle for offenders is the extra burden on available jobs due to their criminal conviction(s). These issues make it extremely unfavorable for victims to have a real shot at receiving their restitution in a timely manner, if ever (Karmen, 2015). …show more content…
There are, however, some considerations that should be taken seriously when attempting to place an offender in a job or create a position. If the pay is insufficient, then the length of time to satisfy restitution becomes unreasonable. Low pay can also cause the offender to quit, which effectively negates any restitution to the victim (Karmen, 2015). The type of job and required tasks is also important because if the offender feels the position belittles him or her, this will not only cause them to quit, but have little to no interests in making an honest living. This can ultimately lead to future criminal behavior (Karmen,
The baseline for this argument can be given by looking at America, “America is home to 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s prisoners. More than two millions Americans are locked up at any given time, more than half of them in state prisons. This is costly, at $29,000 per federal inmate per year and more for state prisoners—about the price of sending each one to an Ivy League university” (W.). Partially all state prisoners are serving time in jail for non-violent crimes. When these prisoners are released, they struggle and fight for jobs. However, most of them lose this battle and end up right back where they started in prison. Messrs and Paul Booker introduced the Record Expungement Designed to Enhance Employment Act to law on July 8th. This act is mostly known as “The Redeem
Without these men getting to work and becoming productive members of society, they are barred from this opportunity and the economy suffers (Appelbaum, 2015). Devah Pager, who conducted the famous study “Mark of a Criminal Recod,” which unveiled apparent discrimination against ex-offenders in the job market, weighed in on the issue: “Prior to the prison boom, when convictions were restricted to a smaller fraction of the population, it wasn’t great for their rehab potential but it wasn’t having a huge impact… Now such a large fraction of the population is affected that is has really significant implication, not just for those people, but for the labor market as a whole (Appelbaum,
The Youth Criminal Justice Act has many concerns creating inequalities in the restorative justice approach. For instance, juvenile delinquents who develop from a background that is impoverished may lack the ability to satisfy the reparative objectives of punishment and may not be ready to be reintegrated back into socie...
Imagine you’re young, and alone. If your family was taken from you and suffered horribly for your freedom, would you want to be repaid in some form? In the article “The Case for Reparations” Ta-Nehisi Coates discusses a great deal of information about reparations, and if they should be given. Reparations are when a person or people make amends for the wrong they have done. Ta-Nehisi believes that from two hundred years of slavery, ninety years of Jim Crow laws, sixty years of separate but equal, and thirty five years of racist housing policy, that America is shackled. Only if we face the compounding moral debt can America be free. Until we face the reality of what happened together, we will always be bound by the lies that have been told.
issues in the court system. Studies show that most victims in the criminal justice system are poor
Having a job and a flow of income are essential to easing back into the world after imprisonment. Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow” has studies that found that finding employment after incarceration is more of a priorities to felons than finding or having access to housing. Most employers will have interviewers ask a job candidate about any past convictions, which then lessens the chances of a felon being able to receive that job. Even prior to the interview stage, many former felons may not even make it as far as to being interviewed, as most online and paper job applications ask for one’s criminal history. The inability to find employment after conviction and release can sometimes consequently lead to the felon falling back into a cycle of crime, perhaps in a means of illegally obtaining income, like through the drug
Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz states how schools that claim they are following restorative approaches through their policies in discipline are not necessarily restorative, but have enough flexibility to allow a restorative response.
Furthermore, the tremendous incarceration costs to our society do not stop at finances; the costs also include long-lasting negative effects on individuals, families, and communities. The impact of incarceration on crime rates is surprisingly small and must be considered against both its high financial and high social costs to prisoners, their families, and their communities (Schmitt).
Economics can have controversial ideas, and this can be expressed in terms of crime. Economic theory would suggest that there is an ‘optimal level of crime’. As Stigler (1970) argues, ‘there is one decisive reason why society must forego ‘complete’ enforcement of the rule: enforcement is costly.’ The extent of enforcement of laws depends upon the amount of resources devoted to the task. Stigler goes on to argue that society could make certain crime does not pay by paying enough to apprehend most criminals, but such a level of enforcement would of course be expensive.
Similarly to rehabilitation, restoration looks to better society, however, this approach to justice emphasises the needs of the victim. In cases of minor crimes such as vandalism or petty theft, restoration is preferable to rehabilitation. This is because those who commit these minor crimes often don’t have the need for rehabilitation as mental health isn’t a large concern. In these small cases, it is also not burdensome to compensate for the losses of the victim, making restoration the ideal
“Restorative justice is an approach to crime and other wrongdoings that focuses on repairing harm and encouraging responsibility and involvement of the parties impacted by the wrong.” This quote comes from a leading restorative justice scholar named Howard Zehr. The process of restorative justice necessitates a shift in responsibility for addressing crime. In a restorative justice process, the citizens who have been affected by a crime must take an active role in addressing that crime. Although law professionals may have secondary roles in facilitating the restorative justice process, it is the citizens who must take up the majority of the responsibility in healing the pains caused by crime. Restorative justice is a very broad subject and has many other topics inside of it. The main goal of the restorative justice system is to focus on the needs of the victims, the offenders, and the community, and focus
Greg Mantle, F. D., & Dhami, M. K. (2005). Restorative justice and three individual theories of crime. Internet Journal of Criminology IJC , 1-36. Retrieved from http://www.restorativejustice.org/articlesdb/articles/5914
Employee theft is when an employee is at any point stealing, using or misusing an employer’s assets without permission and can either be cash or even more than just cash (Business, 2011.) This is important to consider when an individual already has a record of either being a burglar or a robber and then expecting them to not follow the habit and steal from their place of work. I can see how victims and their families and even the community can have the objection of them automatically receiving a job and almost be rewarding for their crimes. Restitution takes place whenever an individual or “criminal” is directly responsible to repay a victim for the victims loses (Karmen, 2016.) By giving them a living wage, not only can help the offender to
As the purpose of restorative justice is to mend the very relationship between the victim, offender, and society, communities that embrace restorative justice foster an awareness on how the act has harmed others. Braithwaite (1989) notes that by rejecting only the criminal act and not the offender, restorative justice allows for a closer empathetic relationship between the offender, victims, and community. By acknowledging the intrinsic worth of the offender and their ability to contribute back to the community, restorative justice shows how all individuals are capable of being useful despite criminal acts previous. This encourages offenders to safely reintegrate into society, as they are encouraged to rejoin and find rapport with the community through their emotions and
Today, a vicious cycle of poverty, criminality, and incarceration traps too many Americans and weakens too many communities. And many aspects of our criminal justice system may actually exacerbate these problems, rather than alleviate them.