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Assignment 4: Action and Reflection
The purpose of this part of the assignment is to work at the integration, experience and
reflection aspects of working toward mastery of the Restorative Justice theory and
practice. The assignment is to make contact with two persons in the criminal justice field (police officer, probation officer, judge, etc.) to introduce them to Restorative Justice, to listen to and understand their response, to attempt to influence them (gently) in the direction of Restorative Justice, and to reflect on your experience.
a. Arrange an appointment (1/2 to 1 hour) to meet with a criminal justice official (if you already know someone you can meet with them). (If you are a criminal justice official, choose someone in an area different from your own.)
b. Interview them. Prepare yourself by deciding to be high on your commitment to be constructive and high on the issue of Restorative Justice. Below is a possible outline for your interview.
1. Give them an overview of your agenda for the meeting.
2. Ask them to describe an experience of justice.
3. Present/discuss with them the principles of restorative justice.
4. Ask them to evaluate their work using the Restorative Justice Evaluation continuums.
5. Ask if they would be interested in pursuing further VORP or Restorative Justice Principles as they would apply in their area of influence.
6. Thank them for their time and effort and offer assistance or resources or follow-up on their interests.
Write a 2-3 page description/reflection of your experiences.
Textbook for CRJ3600 Only: Van Ness, D. & Strong, K. (2015). Restoring justice: An introduction to restorative justice. [5TH ED] Boston, MA. Anderson Publishing
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I only got a chance to interview only one person, here are her responses…….
Nikita Franklin
Position: Pretrial Court Service Officer with Fulton County Government
After doing some research on Restorative Justice; it is to my own understanding that restorative justice attempts to bring the victim of a crime and the defendant who committed that crime together in order to work some type of agreement out, which would be suitable to the victim and attainable to the defendant. This to me seems as if it gives the victim some type of gratification of having an input on what should and can happen to the defendant for sanction or convictions.
My experience of justice never varies, and that’s because I hardly ever go astray from the bias rule…. But when giving the judge the proper and correct information that is needed to determine how the defendant should be sanctioned, I never waver and report all the facts. There are times when I think the dispositions should have been harsher or even lighter, but those are all my own personal opinions.
2). An experience of justice; there was a case of a minor who was sixteen at the time of the event but had turned seventeen by the time charges was pressed, and he was actually charged as an adult. This was a case where the defendant had been having sex with a female age 15, and it was consensual. But, because the parents wanted rape charges to be pressed, the defendant would be charged and have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Never mind the fact that they were in a relationship and the female admitted to being in a relationship and wanted to have sex with him (her boyfriend). The cases ended up going before a jury, and they later found the defendant not guilty.
4). Now, if I had to apply the restorative justice theory to my example of justice, I think it would have been very beneficial. This is where the parents of the female could have sat down and talked with the defendant and his parents about what actually took place, without going all the way through the court system and avoiding the young man to have an initial arrest placed on his criminal record, which can still later in life hinder him from maybe getting a job or something of that nature.
5). When I am working in the Warrant Application Court, which is a court for those that feel they are a victim of a crime (must be criminal) by someone they might know or have knowledge of, can speak with a mediator and maybe come up with some form of agreement that would satisfy both parties.
6.) You are more than welcome… I hope this helps!! Good Luck!!
Please let me know if you have further questions
