Restorative Justice,\" John Braithwaite (1998)

¶ … Restorative Justice," John Braithwaite (1998) suggests that Hollywood movies and television shows lend credence to the American view that the justice system should be hard on crime. Anyone who as watched an episode of Law and Order or CSI would have to agree. Many times these shows depict stories of criminals who do not commit crimes out of pre-meditation, but rather desperation and need. In most, these criminals are not treated any differently than those who commit crimes coldly, and with premeditation. With this hard-line Hollywood attitude, one might suspect that Americans believe that a get-touch correctional system is correct, but this is not necessarily true. Through an exploration of restorative justice in the community and specific attitudes in the United States, one can determine that the American people actually want a rehabilitative correctional system.

Instead of a punitive criminal justice system, which pits criminals and victims against each other, a rehabilitative system is more community-based, encouraging a tighter-knit community and country. These are characteristics that the American people value. According to Braithwaite (1998), restorative justice is not only a "major development in criminological thinking," but also it is the first and primary method of penal systems throughout history (433).

In fact, Braithwaite argues that it has been the dominant system for many different peoples and cultural groups, including Hindus, Buddhists, Arabs, Greeks, and Romans. While some may suggest that this does not hold relevance for the United States, the truth is actually just the opposite. In fact, the laws and cultures in the United States are made up primarily of the building blocks from these communities. If the ancient Greek and Roman ideas of government and learning have been passed on to the United States, it would make sense that attitudes toward the penal system would be similarly passed to United States Citizens. Furthermore, this information suggests that a variety of cultures, religions, and ethnicities are united by their desire to help others, a desire for rehabilitation.

Not only is the melting pot nation of the United States made up of cultures that have embraced rehabilitation, but also restorative justice is also integral in bringing together the community. As community cohesiveness is a value that is praised by United States' citizens, this suggests that most United States' citizens favor rehabilitation. In Braithwaite's (1998) case study, he gives the example of two teens arrested for robbery, one who dies early because of a penal system, and the other who undergoes a restorative justice programs and is reunited with his victim, to both of their advantage. The teen is given a support system that allows him to function semi-normally in society and the victim becomes sympathetic to his situation, and is no longer afraid to walk alone. This system suggests that the community is coming together. In the second case, the high school, family, the victim, and her family came together. Several people who would have been oblivious of each other or enemies were brought together in order to advance the community and heal the community. In addition to victims and offenders, Braithwaite (2002) suggests that people other than the victim and offender come away from the session with satisfaction. These individuals, like police officers, are community officials. Thus, rehabilitative justice brings together not simply the victim and offender, but also the whole community. As members of the United States praise this value, most people in the United States would favor a restorative penal system. Furthermore, Braithwaite (2002) suggests that many members of Western nations such as Australia and the United States further more liberal systems. Thus, based both on the fact that the United States is made up of cultures that have valued reformative systems in the past and that American values are promoted by the restorative penal systems, citizens of the United States most likely favor the restorative system.

2. Interventions for teens and wayward youths are such appealing programs because no one wants to assume that children and youths are born with deviant minds. Most agree that children and youths commit criminal acts because something has gone wrong in their lives. Most suggest that these things that go wrong have to do with parents, schools, and most often deviant peer groups. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that deviant peer groups are some of the largest contributions to youth delinquency. Most want to assume that, if the cause of juvenile delinquency could be found, an intervention could cure the cause and cure the teen. Thus, the innocent child would not be faced with a criminal's life, but would instead be able to be put on the right path to self-development. An exploration of intervention programs will allow students of criminology to understand why the rehabilitation program is one of the most popular.

The fact that children commit crimes is shocking to many professionals, parents, and other citizens of the United States. Loeber, Farrrington, and Petechuk (2003) found that those who committed crimes as children were more likely to become involved in "serious, violent" crimes than minors who begin committing crimes when they are adolescents (1-2). The authors also suggested that the number of childhood delinquents dealt with by the courts is large, and the numbers continue to increase (2). More and more children are becoming criminals, and this also suggests that more and more children are becoming victims. Some, however, consider whether the childhood criminal is much different than the childhood victim. According to Loeber, Farrington, and Petechuk (2003), some indicators of childhood delinquency include developmental problems, such as limited development in language, temperamental characteristics, and low attachment to caregivers. The authors also suggest that risk factors and predictors of childhood criminal behavior are much different than indicators of adolescent criminal behavior. Risk factors for children are generally "biological, individual, and family factors," can be determined as early as pre-school (6). For both children and adolescents, however, the risk factors and predictors are there. Thus, many professionals, parents, and others in the field suggest that these risk factors and indicators can lead to prevention. Prevention techniques include finding those that have risk factors and indicators and intervening in order to correct the problem that may lead to long-term criminal behavior.