Restorative Justice
Type of document PowerPoint Presentation 8 Pages Subject area Criminology Academic Level Master
Style APA references 2
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Restorative Justice
Supporting Lectures:
- Social Process
- Positive Criminology
- Punishment
A recent movement in criminology has been the development of “restorative justice.” Some restorative justice programs seek to find alternative forms of punishment, with the goal of better serving the needs of the victim, offender, and community. Often, punishments involving shame or stigma are utilized instead of incarceration.
Prepare a PowerPoint presentation of 8-10 slides that will cover the points listed below. Make use of the “notes” areas to elaborate on the brief points presented on the slide.
- How effective are policies of shaming and placing stigmas on individuals in deterring crimes?
- Critically evaluate the process of restorative justice, and identify barriers to successful implementation. What factors might hinder a restorative justice effort?
- Have any restorative justice models proven to be effective in the United States? Provide an example of a program and analyze its effectiveness.
- Relate the idea of restorative justice to the impact of attachments, such as to school and social activities.
- How can the lessons learned in this assignment be used to improve existing policies?
** Readings to be used to validate topic:
Social Process
Albert Bandura, Stanley Milgram, and Philip Zimbardo demonstrated the power of social process in several well-known experiments. These experiments are well-documented, including on video, and are worth reviewing. Of particular interest to criminology students are Bandura’s “Bobo the Doll” experiment, Milgram’s “Obedience” experiment, and Zimbardo’s “Stanford Prison” experiment.
In each of these experiments, we can witness the influence of other people on one’s behavior. Parents are well aware that their children notice behaviors and mimic what they see. Bandura illustrated this fact by showing how young children copy the actions of their parents, including acting violently with their dolls. Milgram and Zimbardo demonstrated the power of influence that is wielded by those around us, in experiments that shed disturbing light on human behavior.
Labeling theory is one of the social process theories, which means it focuses on the interaction between individuals and society. According to this theory, criminal behavior is not innate but rather, a process of learning and socialization in the group that a person belongs to.
According to this theory, individuals are compelled to act according to the labels assigned to them by others. For example, if a child is labeled as a leader, not only will he begin to act that way, but others will also create opportunities for him to live up to that label. Conversely, if a student is labeled as a delinquent, this identity becomes internalized and influences future behavior. Moreover, as others learn of the label, they react to it. “Good” classmates will shy away from the “delinquent,” reducing the number of positive associations available to him or her.
The juvenile justice system purposely avoids the use of certain words, such as “arrest,” “conviction,” “jail,” and others. This is an attempt to limit the negative impact of labeling a juvenile who gets into trouble.
Class and Conflict
Social class is a key variable in the study of crime. Distinctions in social class are made on the basis of achieved statuses, such as education and income, or ascribed statuses such as race and gender.
Conflict theorists argue that many of the laws that are passed are not in the best interests of most people in the society. However, these laws largely support the interests of the powerful.
Social conflict theory focuses on groups within society and explains the conflict between powerful groups and the less powerful. The primary view is that crime is a result of social and economic forces that are controlled by the powerful groups in order to keep the two groups separate. Thus, the moral order is created by the social elite (i.e. powerful groups), an order to which the lower classes simply are unable or unwilling to conform.
Social conflict theorists stress how social institutions, social change, and pressures have different effects on people, depending on their social class membership, and access to resources and power. The more powerful groups or classes use their power to exploit less powerful groups or classes.
Conflict theorists point to policies such as the disparity in enforcement of crack cocaine laws, compared to those related to powder cocaine. Police and prosecutors would suggest that certainly more crack dealers are arrested than powder dealers, but this is due to the more visible nature of the transaction. Crack is typically sold out in the open, and the dealer and buyer often are unknown to each other. On the other hand, powder cocaine dealers typically work indoors and sell only to well-known customers. Thus, it is much easier to effect the arrest of a crack dealer than a powder dealer. Conflict theorists, however, would contend that police focus their efforts on crack dealers in order to disproportionately punish minority and inner-city residents, while allowing the powder dealers to sell to their more affluent customers.
White Collar Crime
Continuing the discussion of conflict theory, we can examine white-collar crime and its treatment by the criminal justice system.
Conflict theorists would interpret the disparities between white-collar and “street” crimes as more evidence of class-based conflict. They would argue that members of the working classes typically commit street crimes while the elite classes commit white collar crimes, commonly associated with their occupation. It is arguable that just as much (if not more) harm is caused by white collar crime than street crime.
However, those in power define street crime as more threatening and heinous than white collar crime. Likewise, the elite have the power to levy stricter penalties and sanctions for street level crime than their own white collar crimes. It is in the best interest of the powerful to define their own actions as less threatening (hence, making themselves less culpable and imposing fewer penalties on themselves) than those of the less powerful, working classes.
Certainly the “conflict” interpretation described here is debatable. White-collar crimes are generally far more complex and less-visible than street crimes. Prosecuting a case of insurance fraud, for instance, requires more time and resources than prosecuting a case of assault and battery. Many white-collar crimes are never detected, and often the perpetrator is in a different jurisdiction than the victim. These realities could explain the disparities in enforcement between white-collar and street crimes.
While we tend to think in terms of street crimes such as robbery or theft when considering criminological theories, these theories can also be applied to white-collar crime. Strain theory and its variants certainly apply in such cases, as people’s desire for wealth can often lead to crime. Rather than turn to larceny, some will find opportunity in white-collar crimes such as fraud or embezzlement.