Restorative Justice and Juvenile Offenders

In a community that is more connected, the members are likely to restrain themselves from impulses disapproved by the society. But as the bonds are weakened particularly by isolation and fear, crimes increase as the authority of community disapproval lessens. Often, the impacts of such processes are magnified in youths. Adolescents who are not attached to the conventional community institutions like school, recreational, and religious organizations are likely to engage in criminalities. This is where the juvenile systems step in to respond to delinquency and youth crime. Typically, restorative justice seeks to engage all stakeholders and offering opportunities for the individuals impacted by the criminalities to be involved directly in the response to the harm caused. In restorative justice, a key premise is that the offenders, victims, as well as the affected communities, are key participants in the restorative process.

(1) In this sense, victims include those affected directly by the crime and the affected family and community members. In any given restorative justice system, the victims’ safety, needs, and support is the starting point. Thus, the primary objective of the restorative process is to attend to the emotional, material, social, and financial needs of the victims. Alternatively, the child can be placed in a non-governmental education facility or a foster home how he or she can learn how to perform little chores, read and write, or learn a given profession. Studies have revealed the efficacy of restorative justice especially in juvenile delinquency. Various meta-analysis campaigns on the efficacy of restorative justice covering children suggest a reduction in repeat-offending rates for violent crimes or those against personal property.

Interestingly, the same campaigns revealed that restorative justice provides better results in regards to repeat offenders for heinous crimes and those involving numerous repeat offenses as compared to simple criminal acts. Another study reveals that there are high satisfaction rates among victims when brought face to face with their offenders and that such experiences reduce post-traumatic symptoms rates. Despite its widespread use in the U. S, there are some future obstacles that might threaten the success of restorative justice, especially with juvenile offenders. The potential challenges or barriers include definition, relevance, institutionalization, and displacement (Wood, & Suzuki, 2016). The four overlap and might pose challenges which in the foreseeable future will define restorative justice. In terms of definition, restorative justice needs some distinction between what restorative justice is and what it is not.