Restorative Justice And Crime Prevention Criminology Essay

Restorative Justice And Crime Prevention Criminology Essay Traditional Justice in the United States has been an eye for an eye standard since this nation declared its independence from England in 1776. While this concept is acceptable, because it adheres to the Law, it does nothing for the offender or victim beyond punishment. (Redlich, 2012) Restorative Justice is the standard of putting the law in the back seat, and bringing the problem of why the offender committed the crime, how the offender can repair his or her injustice, the victim having an input in the criminals restoration and the opportunity to confront the offender, with the community helping the victim and offender overcome the crime by restoring each other to society as responsible forgiving citizens that are productive to society. (Richards, 2009) Traditional Justice is not successful in overcoming crime, and does not correct the injustice or harm done by the offender, nor does it stop the offender from re-offending after the punishment has been completed. Restorative Justice is the best solution for minimizing future crime, and correcting the recidivism associated with traditional justice. Traditional Justice in America has been consistent for more than two centuries, in that our nation has sought to punish wrong doers (criminals) by stiff sentences of incarceration, probation, parole, and fines. The people that are caught up in a criminal offense in the U.S. are sent to prison by the droves. Once they are released from prison, or jail, this is not the end of their circumstance. Often, low class offenders are placed on probation, where they are constantly monitored by a probation officer, and in some cases if the offender has a prison sentence in some states, he or she are placed on Parole. This is determined on an individual basis. Sadly enough, being monitored after prison or jail, the offender is thrown back into society with very little support in his or her financial lively-hood. The ex-offender is released with less than $200.00 in most state ran prison facilities. The offender may have had a home, transportation, a wife or husband, a job and other necessities fo r them to survive at the point where they were sent to jail or prison. When the ex-offender comes back into free society (for the most part), he or she is without any of the necessities to survive as a law-abiding, self-supporting citizen. (Galster, 1985) Criminal Records Now, in 2012, when an offender is convicted or even charged with a crime, a criminal record is established as public information that is used to prejudice, and stigmatize the ex-offender or accused from equal opportunity employment. This record is often used to deny the person of renting a home or apartment, working in certain companies or businesses. (Relyea, 1980) More and more employers seek the criminal record history of job applicants, sometimes even before extending the applicant an offer. Typically, employers will seek such information on employment applications, often asking applicants to indicate in a check box question whether they have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor within a certain time period. Other employers will ask this question and explore a candidates response during a job interview, and most employers will ask applicants to submit to a full criminal background check after a conditional offer of employment is extended. Employers who gather and use crimina l history information need to be mindful of applicable local, state and federal laws regarding criminal background checks (Rosen, 2011). Recidivism Prison sentences are not succeeding in turning the majority of offenders away from crime. Of those prisoners released in 1997, 58 per cent were convicted of another crime within two years. Thirty-six per cent were back inside on another prison sentence. The system struggles particularly to reform younger offenders. 18-20-year-old male prisoners were reconvicted at a rate of 72 per cent over the same period; 47 per cent received another prison sentence (webarchive, 2007). These numbers dont lie. People that are released from incarceration are starting life all over again regardless of their age. When a person is released without support from the community, family, friends, or organizations that help the ex-offender re-establish themselves as law-abiding, self-supporting citizens, in America, the statistics says that most ex-offenders will return to prison or jail. This alone is enough to recognize that the traditional justice system is severely flawed in reducing recidivism or crime. Restorative Justice Restorative justice or reparative justice is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of the victims and the offenders, as well as the community, instead of legal principles or punishing the offender. The victims participate in the process, while offenders are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions. This form of justice gives the offender the greatest opportunity to repair the harm theyve done which allows them to apologize to everyone harmed, and other restoration to the offender such as returning stolen money, or participating in community service is part of the rehabilitation. Restorative justice focuses on both the victim and offender by addressing and implementing solutions to their personal needs. The key preventative aspect of restorative justice is that it provides help for the offender in order to avoid future offenses. It is based on a theory of justice that considers crime and wrongdoing to be an offense against an individual or community, instead of a crime against the state. In the traditional justice system currently applied in most criminal courts, the offender versus the State or United States is sold to the tax payer under the premise of we the people concept. (Richards, 2009) Restorative justice that nurtures discussion between the victim and offender shows the highest rates of victim satisfaction and offender accountability. Restorative justice is a different way of thinking about responding to crime. Restorative justice politicians and authorities view crime as harm done to people and communities, not just violation of the law. They seek to put things right by addressing the harm to victims, the community and by addressing the causes of crime. There are many different types of restorative justice. (Solgps.alberta.ca 2012) Restorative Justice Models The three most common models are Family group (or community) conferencing, Circles (sentencing circles, healing circles, or peace circles), and Victim-offender conferences where most models involve some form of encounter between the victim and offender. (Solgps.alberta.ca 2012) The principle of restorative justice starts with realizing that crime is injury. Crime hurts individual victims, communities, and offenders which creates an obligation to make things right by everyone. All parties should be a part of the response to the crime, including the victim if he or she wishes, the community, and the offender. The victims perspective is central to deciding how to repair the harm caused by the crime. Accountability for the offender means accepting responsibility and acting to repair the harm done. The community is responsible for the well-being of all its members, including both victim and offender. All human beings have dignity and worth. Restoration in Restorative Justice is repairing the harm and rebuilding relationships in the community. The results are measured by how much repair was accomplished with the offender, victim and community, rather than by how much punishment was inflicted on the offender. The goal of restoring the offender, in the community is key to the success of Restorative Justice. Crime control cannot be achieved without active involvement of the community. When dealing with all offenders, the justice process is respectful of age, abilities, sexual orientation, family status, and diverse cultures and backgrounds. Using the restorative justice model gives full recognition of everyone involved, regardless of racial, ethnic, geographic, religious, economic, or other common prejudices associated in the traditional justice we currently have ensuring that everyone is given equal protection and due process.(ojjdp.gov, 2012) Restorative Justice and Recidivism One of the most important outcome variables for any form of criminal justice intervention is recidivism. The overall mean effect size for the 32 tests that examined the effectiveness of restorative justice programming in reducing offender recidivism was +.07 (SD = .13) with a 95% CI of +.12 to +.02. Although the effect sizes ranged from +.38 to -.23, more than two thirds of the effect sizes were positive (72%). In other words, restorative justice programs, on average, yielded reductions in recidivism compared to non-restorative approaches to criminal behavior. In fact, compared to the comparison and/or control groups who did not participate in a restorative justice program, offenders in the treatment groups were significantly more successful during the follow-up periods, t(31) = 2.88, p Benefits of Restorative Justice A benefit to the community for restorative justice is the opportunity to be interactive with the victims and the offenders beyond the traditional justice system. The community can identify the problems within their surroundings and recognize the problems before crime occurs. Potential offenders can be identified and brought into the system early to rehabilitate them and give them a quality of life experience that hopefully minimizes the community threats of crime. In addition, as our society has recognized the disparate treatment of employment opportunities for ex-offenders, nearly all state laws prohibit employers from considering a job applicants arrest that did not result in a conviction. Moreover, the EEOC takes the position that because the use of arrest records as an absolute bar to employment has a disparate impact on some protected groups; such records alone cannot be used to exclude applicants from employment and has even gone as far as stating that a pre-employment inquiry may violate Title VII. The EEOC has consistently invalidated employment policies containing a blanket exclusion of those individuals with arrest records. Thus, employers should avoid asking job applicants any questions designed to elicit information regarding prior arrests that did not result in convictions and should remove any such questions from employment applications (Rosen, 2012). Benefits of the victim are true concern for their mental, physical, and recovery needs. Traditional court has very little if any concern for the victim outside of using them to testify against the offender to gain a conviction. Restoration of the victim is almost meaningless to the traditional courts. The victim is given the opportunity to reconcile with the offender, and be at peace with themselves and the offender, or they can opt out to retain the eye for an eye belief about justice. By confronting the offender, the victim is able to understand why the offender committed the crime, and he or she is left with acceptance or denial of what has happened. This is true closure. (The term: Closure is often used in a criminal proceeding by the prosecutor or defense attorney which means: A feeling of finality or resolution, especially after a traumatic experience (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/closure, 2012). Without restoring the victim, the offender, and reintegrating the ex-offender after prison with his character being restored and the victim having the opportunity to put to rest the harm the offender caused, with a society that wants to forgive, closure is an illusion for everyone. The benefits of the offender is to allow them the opportunity to explain why the offense was committed, and understand what he or she is expected of from the community and victim. The offender can be restored with the opportunity to make a difference in society and their self. By being confronted in this forum, the offender can be honest within themselves and face the real whole truth and nothing but the truth. Conclusion In this paper, we have learned that Traditional Justice fails to restore the victim, the community, and the offender. Traditional justice cost tax payers extensively with little regard to making amends by the offender to the offended or the citizens the offender was a part of before the crime took place. Identifying criminal conduct, bringing the offender into a court of law, convicting the offender, sending the offender to jail or prison and releasing them back into free society without money, a job, a home, a vehicle, and a chance to work or re-establish a productive life with the traditional justice system is appalling. Certainly, we as a people must refuse to accept crime, but when looking at the benefits of traditional justice versus restorative justice, it is very easy to see that restorative justice is the answer to recidivism, responsibility, justice, and reduction of cost to minimize criminal conduct. By identifying the accused, bringing the offender to the knowledge of the truth about what offense has been committed, confronting the accused with the victim, and allowing society to interact by providing the victim and offender with productive reconciliation is how we as the greatest nation in the world will ever overcome the evil with good. Regardless of whether the offenders criminal conduct was attributed to drugs and alcohol, as more that seventy-percent of all crimes are a result of drugs and alcohol, the offender, victim, and society deserve a solution to crime, not a band-aid that only puts the prisoner in jail or prison, and puts a greater threat on society once he or she is released af ter the sentence under the traditional justice system.

Implications of the Bertrand Model

In 1893 French economist Joseph Bertrand developed his Bertrand model of competition from his review of Antoine Cournots study of a Spring Water duopoly. His criticism lay with how firms in oligopolies compete. In his model firms compete with prices rather than Cornots quantities. (REFERENCE TO SPANISH JOURNAL) The model consists of two firms who set prices simultaneously and independently (HUGH GRAVIELLE AND AY REES, MICROECONOMICES), jean tiral explains this as when one firm sets its price it is ignorant to its rival’s price, rather it â€Å"anticipates† what they will charge. It is assumed products are homogeneous and perfect substitutes (ECCSTRAT) and due to the nature of the product the firm supplying output at the lowest price will gain the entire market demand. (GB! ) This firm will have to supply all the forthcoming demand at the price they have set; gb1 from this an important assumption of the model is that there are no capacity constraints, that both firms have the same marginal cost, which remains constant, and that demand is liner. GB2 As stated, the entire market demand for homogeneous products will go to the firm offering the lowest price, although if both firms were to sell at the same price â€Å"a sharing rule must be assumed† GB2. Using an example from the ((((((( lets suppose the market demand for a homogeneous product is given by, Q = 120-p (where Q is quantity demanded and p is price charged). The marginal cost (MC) for both producers is, C=$30, and both producers sell output at p=c=$30. The demand for each producer is Q=0. 5*120-p=45. Lets say producer A increased their price to c=$31, the entire market demand would transfer to producer B who would now have a demand function of Qb=120-c=90, while producer A would have zero demand. However if producer A had reduced their price to c=$29, they would capture the entire market demand through charging the lowest cost, however they would make a $1 loss in each product sold. From this, the Nash equilibrium for the Bertrand model lies where P=MC, with demand so heavily influenced by price producers do not want to be undercut by rivals. With P=MC no rival will undercut as zero profits are preferable to negative profits, and any firm trying to charge above the MC and make positive profits will receive no sales. The suggestion is the addition of one firm restores perfect market competition (Jean Tirole, 1998), moving the market form monopoly power and profits (maximum inefficiency) to perfectly competitive (maximum efficiency). It had been deemed a paradox as it is difficult to believe that two firms in a duopolistic market can make zero profits. We are able to resolve Bertrand’s paradox through relaxing and of the three integral assumptions of the model (intro to industrial org l. M. B Cabrail). In order to analyse its practical relevance and its implications, this essay will now give examples of where the paradox can be deconstructed. The first example of a solution comes from a combination of two assumptions, the first is the absence of capacity constraints, and the second firms make decisions independently. In the model whichever firm firm is charging the lowest price will receive the entire market demand, and is â€Å"expected to supply all forthcoming demand at the price it has set† (old xavior). There are few situations in the real world where one firm could satisfy the demand of the whole market. Using the previous example, producer B gained the entire market demand (Q=120-$30=90). Let’s assume producer B has a capacity constraint below 90 units. There is now a proportion of the market that can only be satisfied by producer A, who can use monopoly power and make positive profits as the only producer. (managerial Economics a strategic approach). This example shows how with the inclusion of a common real world problem, Bertrand’s proposed equilibrium of price equal to marginal cost is deconstructed. A second implication of capacity constraints is their effect on collision between firms. Collusion reduces market competiveness, firms tactically agree to set prices above particular levels and to not to engage in price wars,(REF). A positive relationship between excess capacity and collusion was identified by David and Deneckere, who found excess capacity is a â€Å"prerequisite for stable collusion† while it provides a â€Å"stronger bargaining position within cartels† (QUOTE TO JOURNALS THAT ARE ON JUIBILEE AND WOLF). These effects have been see in oil cartel OPEC, which has existed since the second world war and where the largest producer, Saudi Arabia can flood the market if small producers â€Å"cheat† on their quotas. (paul Pijush). Through years of controlling supply and therefore price the carte will receive one trillion dollars in revenues this year, (Wall street post). The prisoners dilemma is â€Å"a particular game between two captured prisoners that illustrates why cooperation is difficult to maintain even when mutually beneficial† (REF). It helps to demonstrate the logic behind Bertrand’s Paradox. Both firms would benefit from charging a price higher than marginal cost, however at this level both firms have an incentive to undercut one another. (managerial economics). If the rules of the game can be changed each agent would receive a higher revenue payoff. (Global Business Mike W peng). Two companies who saw this were General Electric (GE) and Westinghouse. In the early 1960s these two companies controlled over 98% of the US market for large turbine generators. Prior to purchase, electric utilities would negotiate with GE and Westinghouse who, as in Bertrand competition, competed on price. Government owned utilities accounted for twenty five percent of the market share and by law had to purchase from the cheapest provider and publish the price. The two firms generated low profit, as Bertrand competition predicts, until GE ‘changed the rules of the game’ by introducing a price book. The process effectively set a higher market price and guaranteed higher profits, the price publishing behaviour continued successfully until 1975 when the US Department of Justice investigated the industry. Price books were ruled to breach anti-competition laws and the firms were fined. The book, Technology and Transformation in the American Electric Utility Industry by Richard F. Hirsh goes into this example in much greater depth. This is an important example as it demonstrates that Bertrand competition can exist in the real world. However the assumption of zero profits, or in the example, low profits encourages companies to collude to set higher prices and make positive profits. The Bertrand model also assumes that with the entrant of a second firm into the market, and the subsequent Nash equilibrium, price equal to marginal cost, removes the need for policy makers to intervene. However form the previous example this is obviously false as policy makers did have to intervene and sanctions were made. To stress this point, another example; Pakistan’s Federal Cabinet moved powers of oil price fixation to the Oil Companies Advisory Committee in 2001, through flawed polices profits of the duopolists Pakistan State Oil and Shell Pakistan increased by 232% between 2001 to 2005. which lead to further state involvement to enforce price restrictions and encourage competition. (competition reporter. 25,05,2009). In the Bertrand model we assumed that both firms had the same costs of production which remain constant. It is an extreme assumption that two firms would incur exactly the same costs when producing their products, let us now assume that one firm had a cost advantage, i. e. firm A can produce marginally less expensively that firm B (cA

Still Alice by Lisa Genova - 1279 Words

Lisa Genova, the author of Still Alice, a heartbreaking book about a 50-year-old womans sudden diagnosis of Alzheimers disease, graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University. She is a member of the Dementia Advocacy, Support Network International and Dementia USA and is an online columnist for the National Alzheimers Association. Genovas work with Alzheimers patients has given her an understanding of the disorder and its affect not only on the patient, but on their friends and family as well (Simon and Schuster, n.d.). Alzheimer’s disease was first defined in 1906 by a German psychiatrist, Alois Alzheimer. Alzheimers disease is the most common†¦show more content†¦In the book, Still Alice, Alice Howland is happily married to a successful husband with three grown children with a house on the Cape. Alice is a Harvard professor at the height of her career when she notices forgetfulness creeping into her life. As her memory begins to fail and confusion starts to darken her thinking, Alice receives a devastating diagnosis: early onset Alzheimers disease. Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle even as her sense of self is being stripped away, and she tries to live in the moment, Still Alice captures what it is like literally to lose your mind (Genova, 2007). When Alice begins to grow forgetful at first she discards it, but when she gets lost in her own neighborhood, she realizes that something is terribly wrong. She didnt want to become someone people avoided and feared. She wanted to live to hold her daughter, Anna’s, baby and know she was holding her grandchild. She wanted to watch her youngest daughter, Lydia act in something she was proud of. She wanted to see her son, Tom, fall in love. She wanted to be able to read every book she could before she could no longer read. Alice once placed her worth and identity in her academic life, now she must examine her relationship with her husband, her expectations of her daughters and son and her plans for herself. â€Å"Losing her yesterdays, her short-term memory hanging on by a couple of frayed threads, sheShow MoreRelated`` Still Alice By Lisa Genova1131 Words   |  5 PagesAfter gaining a PHD in Neuroscience at Harvard University, Lisa Genova has written numerous fiction no vels themed around her speciality of Mental Health. Lisa’s inspiration to write ‘Still Alice’ was for two reasons; firstly the trauma of witnessing her grandmother ‘disassembled’ and turned from a vibrant and intelligent woman into someone who neither recognised herself nor her life. Secondly, whilst studying Lisa became fascinated in understanding how a person with Alzheimer’s Disease really feelsRead MoreThe Ethical Analysis Assignment Is Still Alice By Lisa Genova1618 Words   |  7 PagesSummary The book that I chose for the Ethical Analysis assignment is Still Alice by Lisa Genova. The book revolves around, Alice Howland, a 50 year-old linguistics professor at Harvard University. In the beginning of the book, Alice seems to be in perfect health. She runs frequently and seems to be in great physical shape, but she soon realizes that something isn’t quite right. Alice begins forgetting small things, such as to sending an email to someone in her department for work, which she attributesRead MoreStill Alice1174 Words   |  5 Pagesas a nurse in my country Colombia and Spain with Alzheimer disease patients. Day by day I came to know each patient’s story because every day they were living the moment without remember the last minute. 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ADHD and ADD - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1070 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/07/31 Category Medicine Essay Level High school Tags: ADHD essay Did you like this example? Growing up, I have heard the phrase ADD / ADHD tossed around in mundane conversations to describe just about anything and everything one may find to be boring or distracting. The normalization of the phrase convinced me that this in fact was another made up thing to justify absent mindedness. Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder more commonly referred to ADD / ADHD, is much more than being sidetracked; it is one of the best and worst things that has happened to me. The earliest documented cases of this disorder were in the late 1800s in England; this disorder was originally dubbed under the umbrella term nerves. It was believed to be caused by trauma sustained to the head during infancy. Over a hundred and fifty years later, that notion was believed to be the origin and published in the DSM-II. It wasnt until 1957, when Dr. Maurice W. Laufer went on to study the inconsistencies and concluded trauma was not a criterion. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "ADHD and ADD" essay for you Create order It has long been recognized and accepted that a persistent disturbance of behavior of a characteristic kind may be noted after severe head injury, epidemic encephalitis and communicable disease encephalopathies, such as measles, in children. It has often been observed that a behavior pattern of a similar nature may be found in children who present no clear-cut history of any of the classical causes mentioned. This pattern will henceforth be referred to as hyperkinetic impulse disorder. (Laufer et al. 1957) When the DSM-III came out, Hyperkinetic Impulse Disorder was revised and revamped. Under the rebranded title of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, many doctors felt as though it did not encompass those who did not have the hyperactive component. And so, the DSM-IV recognized both ADD and ADHD. According to the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (2018), this disorder is a highly genetic, brain-based syndrome that has to do with the regulation of a particular set of brain functions and related behaviors. One key phrase I want to emphasize is how it is brain-based; therefore, the signs, symptoms and severity will differ from one person to the next. Although definition explained the overall location and effects of the disorder, we will focus on the etiology next. A major contributor is heredity due to the role of the DRD4 gene. The D4 receptor is known to be responsible for dopamine intake in the brain (NIH, 2018). Variants of this gene have been proven disrupt the pathway of dopamine from reaching the correct sensors. When these pathways are interfered with, it affects the mesolimbic system of the brain; which in turn is responsible for reward, attention and emotions. This gene has also been linked to traits of risk taking, substance abuse, novelty seeking and impulsivity (Ebstein et al., 1996; Benjamin et al., 1996; Li et al., 2004; Reiner and Spangler, 2011). Along with genetics, there have been various causations believed. These included: sustained trauma as mentioned before, diet and environment. While research is still being done in all aspects, studies have shown this disorder present in just about every population. With the recent changes in diet due to variety of foods being more available, GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and travel becoming more accessible; researchers have begun to focus on new potential links (San Mauro Mart? ­n, I et al., Nutritional Neuroscience, 21(9), 641â€Å"647). Seeing that we have covered background information on this disorder such as: history, how it operates and potential links; I am going to dive into the signs, symptoms, and severity. I will now share my experiences. In order to complete enrollment for 1st grade, I was required to get a physical; this was my first unofficial diagnosis. As my parents filled out the paperwork, the doctor observed my behavior before nonchalantly asking if they had ever had me tested for learning disabilities other than Attention Deficit Disorder. Just as quickly as he asked, he changed the subject leaving my parents stunned. It was done in such a manner of stating facts, rather than a generalized question. The second landmark incident happened two weeks into my new school year. Due to my inattentive nature, a teacher assumed that I couldnt speak English. Granted I was listed as a transfer student and was falling behind in some areas, she began making an action plan. Almost immediately a parent-teacher conference with a translator was scheduled. Looking back, I see why my family found this funny; all they could say was You got someone to translate Canadian-English?. That meeting lead to my enrollment into cognitive behavior therapy and modification skills, however, I would continue to fall under the radar. Due to my average grades and lack of hyperactivity, I wasnt walking stereotype of what Attention Deficit Disorder looked like. And so, I wouldnt address the underlying issue for 15 years. As we covered before, since this is a brain-based disorder, it will appear differently in everyone. The best way to describe my Attention Deficit Disorder is imagine you are going to Target for toilet paper. However, once you enter you end up in every isle except the one that you need to be in. Youre walking along -oh, theres that thing you forgot last time. Suddenly, you freeze, you cant recall what youre forgetting because your thoughts are racing like a VHS tape on double time. Before you know it, youre at the check-out and the total is in the triple digits. BOOM! You forgot your wallet in the car, but youre in luck because you installed Apple Pay. While pulling out the parking lot youre stuck in traffic, thats when it dawns on you. You forgot to buy the toilet paper. Now imagine that 24/7 and that was my life in a nutshell. When it comes to diagnosing ADD / ADHD there are three major clusters: hyperactivity, inattentiveness and impulsivity. While mine tends to manifest predominantly inattentiveness and impulsivity; some can have a mixture of all three. These cluster take place in behaviors such as: procrastination, lack of focus, moving from one unfished task to the next, overlooking details, excessive talking and lack of organization. While there are certain things to look out for, diagnosing often takes more than one visit. Undiagnosed ADD / ADHD can lead to cases of insomnia, varying degrees of depression and anxiety; however, the same can be said for misdiagnosing. Due to this, many healthcare provides use various rating scales pertaining to behavior, academic and workplace. Some may even go as far as to use third party observations and finally neuropsychological and psychoeducational testing.