Restorative Justice Principles and Correctional Policies Essay

Restorative Justice Principles and Correctional Policies - Essay Example According to the report findings restorative justice principles are becoming used more often in schools - replacing simple expulsion as an attempt at conflict resolution. According to Carol Chmelynski, â€Å"Restorative practices in schools include peer mediation, classroom circles to resolve problems, and family group conferencing, all involving face-to-face resolution to address the multiple impacts of a student's offending behavior. Those most affected by it play an important role in resolving the incident.† This essay talks that efforts have also been made to incorporate this process into the criminal justice system for adult offenders. In a typical prison environment, offenses are merely punished with no attempt for the offender to understand how he has affected the victim. Although rehabilitation is a stated goal of the prison system, no serious efforts take place to actually accomplish that goal. Using restorative justice, prisoners are allowed to take full responsibility for their actions and improve their self esteem. By attempting to resolve issues calmly rather than allowing problems to escalate - or quietly fester - the offender is motivated towards future improvement. Obviously, the implementation of such policies would not be as practical - or even advisable - for the most serious crimes. It is doubtful that family members of a slain child, for example, would be willing to sit down calmly with the offender to discuss how he can accept responsibility for his actions and attempt to make restitution.