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Chapter 22. The Community Justice Movement. definition. “community justice”. a model of justice that emphasizes reparation to the victim and the community, approaching crime from a problem-solving perspective, and citizen involvement in crime prevention.
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Chapter 22 The Community Justice Movement
definition “community justice” • a model of justice that emphasizes reparation to the victim and the community, approaching crime from a problem-solving perspective, and citizen involvement in crime prevention
community justicecomponents community justice a strategy a philosopy • more ambitious than traditional view of criminal justice; • concerned with quality of life in community • community policing • environmental crime • restorative justice
definition “restorative justice” • system of justice that seeks to restore the victim, offender and the community to a level of functioning that existed prior to the criminal event; seeks to repair the damage done (to all parties) by the offender’s criminal act
restorative justice approachtypical programs • crime mapping • citizen advisory groups re: crime priorities • citizen partnerships with justice agencies • justice actors are organized locally to enable more effective strategy formation • citizens and victims involved in sentencing • broad use of offender community service
distinguishing community justice from criminal justice distinguishing features focus is on neighborhood (not legal jur.) focus is on restoration (not retribution) focusis on problem-solving (not adversarial)
arguments FOR community justice • Crime and crime problems arelocal • crime affects quality of life of the neighborhood; it is the neighborhood that is best positioned to and has the greatest stake in addressing crime • Crime fighting improves the quality of life • effort is to break the grip that crime has on the community • Proactive is better than reactive strategies • preventing crime is better than reacting to the damage it does to the victim and community
arguments AGAINST community justice • it jeopardizes individualrights • tendency toward vigilantism? • equality before the law vs. different community approaches to crime control • state’s role in criminal justice decreases • it exacerbates social inequality • community resources & political influence vary • communities with biggest need (worst crime problem) have fewest resources • it requires funds that are not available • traditional criminal justice increasingly costly • who pays for new focus? localities can’t afford • must shift costs within existing budgets