Criminal Justice Reform: Restorative Justice for Aboriginal Offenders - Coursework Example

Criminal Justice Reform: Restorative Justice for Aboriginal Offenders Insert Here Insert Here Criminal Justice Reform: Restorative Justice for Aboriginal Offenders As with the United States, Canadas jails are overcrowded. Canada’s criminal justice system is backlogged and the conservative government in power was recently elected on new promises to crack down on crime and get tough with offenders. In spite of the fact that the climate may not be ideal for criminal justice reform in Canada, the time has come for the Canadian authorities as well as the Canadian public to realize that significant changes to the criminal justice system must occur in the name of justice and due process. While the United States of America boasts the highest incarceration rates on the planet, even higher than places such as China, Iran or Russia, Canada also has significant challenges housing, feeding, and rehabilitating all of the prisoners in its prisons nationwide. According to a report released by the Pew Center for Research on the United States, nearly one in 100 persons in the United States is incarcerated (Pew Center, 2008). Canada has a much smaller population than the United States but the statistics are no less that a staggering. Statistics Canada has recent reported that for the first time in more than 10 years Canadas incarceration rate has increased and is now 110 prisoners per 100,000 of the Canadian population. This represents a 2% increase and for comparative purposes Canadas incarceration rate is higher than most western European countries including that of Sweden which is 82 per 100,000 and France which has an incarceration rate of 85 per 1000 population. Importantly, certain groups of Canadian society are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. The numbers are staggering and must be understood if one hopes to tackle the issue of criminal justice reform and correctional policy reform in the 21st century (Tony, 2001; Statistics Canada, 2008). Seeking to address the fundamental issues associated with an overcrowded prison system and one in which aboriginal people are disproportionately represented, this essay will argue that restorative justice will provide the answer to Canadas incarceration woes. Canada needs to take the diverse cultures and backgrounds of its prison population into context when sentencing and must understand that there are a variety of factors which influence criminality. This essay will be structured in the following manner in order to properly address the problems associated with over aboriginal incarceration in Canada. Beginning with an analysis of the problem, an exploration of the weaknesses, deficits, and excesses of Canadas present correctional policy will be this elaborate upon. Following this a recommended policy to address the problems discussed above will explain the concept of restorative justice. Arguing that restorative justice can be one of the means through which solutions to Canadas aboriginal correctional problems can be made, the following will describe this policy proposal as well as relate how this proposal has been addressed in comparative perspective. Since politics is inherently about persuasion, political as well as interest groups will need to be convinced of the benefits of such proposal and a significant portion of this brief will be devoted to an analysis of how one can gain public and political support for the proposal. Restorative justice may be able to provide the means through which Canada can overcome its over incarceration problems. We now turn to introduction of the subject of incarceration in Canada. Statement of the Problem As Statistics Canada emphatically demonstrates, Canadas incarceration rates are greater than those found in most Western European countries and are on the rise. It appears as though Canada has been heavily influenced by its southern neighbor, the United States, and for the first time in 10 years Canadas incarceration rates have been increasing. With respect to incarceration policies, United States is no country to emulate as approximately one in every 100 Americans is presently incarcerated. According to the Pew Center for Research on the United States, the state of California alone spends $8.8 billion annually on incarceration costs. Canadas incarceration rate stands at 110 prisoners per 100,000 people in the costs associated with incarceration in Canada are equally staggering. Accordingly, since 1996 admissions to remand into custody have grown by about 22% and correctional service expenditures, including policing court costs, are estimated at more than $10 billion per year. Accordingly, the cost of incarcerating a male prisoner exceeds $259 per day. Furthermore, certain groups of the Canadian population are more likely to be incarcerated than others (Pew Center, 2008; Statistics Canada 2006/2007; Criminal Justice, 2009). While aboriginals in Canada account for only 4% of the total Canadian population, they account for 21% of the male prisoner population and 30% of the female prisoner population in this country. Astonishingly, some provinces have incarceration rates of aboriginals not found anywhere else in the Western world. In the province of Manitoba, where aboriginals account for 6% of the total population, aboriginal people in custody account for 71% of the total prison population. Saskatchewan, another province with a relatively large aboriginal population in the community has an astonishing aboriginal incarceration rate of 79% of the total prison population. Accordingly, the youth justice service in Canada also demonstrates the same trends. While 6% of the youth in Canada are described as aboriginals according to Statistics Canada, 31% of all who are sentenced to custody in this country are aboriginal males while female aboriginal youth account for 35% of all young female offenders in this country. Due to the high costs associated with incarceration, as well as the ensuing racial disparities inherent in the Canadian penal justice community, criminal reform must be undertaken (Criminal Justice, 2009; Statistics Canada, 2008). Recommended Policy Many argue that criminal justice policy in the Western world is influenced by ideas surrounding retribution and punishment. While rehabilitation certainly is a concept which has influenced criminal justice and penal development over the past hundred years, the focus of the Canadian, as well as most Western countries’, justice systems has been upon punishment. Restorative justice is a theory of justice which emphasizes the ability to repair the harm caused by criminal behavior by taking steps to repair such harm. Restorative justice involves all stakeholders in the resoration process and has a very important role for the community in responding to the crime committed. Accordingly, restorative justice is conceived of as a cooperative endeavor which includes both the victim and the perpetrator in an effort to make amends for the crime committed. According to an international organization which seeks to promote restorative justice both in Canada and around the world, there are three principles which form the foundation for restorative justice: 1) Justice requires that we work to restore those who have been injured. 2) Those most directly involved and affected by crime should have the opportunity to participate fully in the response if they wish. 3) Governments role is to preserve a just public order, and the communitys is to build and maintain a just peace (Restorative Justice, 2009).  According to John Brathwaite of the Australian National University, the United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders recently passed a resolution to encourage restorative justice throughout the world. Restorative justice is a concept which is increasingly being utilized throughout the world and it moves away from punitive measures. Instead, it focuses on making amends for past crimes and restoring faith in the criminal justice process. Unlike in the traditional punitive criminal justice process, victims have an important opportunity to play in a restorative justice forum which encourages victims to encounter their offenders and expects the offenders to take steps to repair the harms which they have caused. Seeking to participate in the resolution of a particular crime which has been committed, restorative justice focuses on opportunities for victims, and offenders to meet and provide a solution to the crime which has been committed. Brathwaite reports that restorative justice can be a wide variety of programs aimed at addressing crime and punishment from a different perspective and also that “restorative justice has been quite effective in reducing criminal re-offence” thus it can directly lead to a decrease in crime. The scholar emphatically demonstrates that this sort of justice has been employed successfully with native communities in Canada, the United States and New Zealand and that it should be used globally (Brathwaite, 2007). Obtaining Support for the Proposal There are a variety of means through which support can be obtained for this proposal. Conservatives can be appealed to through a discussion of the important costs associated with prison incarceration rates and the fact that Canadas trend towards increased incarceration does not bode well for the fiscal policies of the Conservative Party of Canada. Native groups, as well as other socially progressive groups, should appreciate this policy as native groups are disproportionately represented within the Canadian criminal justice system. With a focus on restitution and restoration as opposed to punishment, restorative justice has the ability to radically transform criminal justice system in Canada. It should be used in good judgment however it would not be applicable to some of the most hardened criminals known to Canada such as Paul Bernardo. Restorative justice focuses on restitution and the inclusion of the victim in the justice process. As a result, victim organizations should be particularly interested in participating in the restorative justice reform movement as it makes them direct participants in the criminal justice process (Zimring, 2007). Concluding Remarks Canadas prison system is in dire need of reform and as Webster and Doob demonstrate in their article on the penal harm movement, there is much interest in a reformation of the penal system. Canada has a higher incarceration rate than most Western European countries and more progressive policies are in order if Canada hopes to break away from the “current punitive paradigm” which is an important feature of Canadas penal system. Certain groups are disproportionately represented within the criminal justice system and restorative justice can be one way through which Canada can seek to provide justice to victims while at the same time addressing the over incarceration rates as well as the fiscal concerns this country currently faces. Canada needs to take the diverse cultures and backgrounds of its prison population into context when sentencing and must understand that there are a variety of factors which influence criminality. It would not make sense to continue along the path of the United States and Canada must revisit it its correctional justice system. Restorative justice can be the means through which Canada can overcome the legacy of prison overcrowding and the disproportionate incarceration rates of its native peoples (Webster & Doob, 2008). REFERENCES “1 in 100”. (2008). Pew Center for Research on the United States. Last Accessed April 14, 2010 http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/One%20in%20100.pdf “Adult and youth correctional services: Key indicators”. (2007). Statistics Canada. Last Accessed April 14, 2010 http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/071121/dq071121b-eng.htm “Adult Correctional Services in Canada, 2005/2006” (2006). Statistics Canada. Last Accessed April 14, 2010 http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/85-002-x2008006-eng.pdf Braithwaite, J. (2007). Encourage Restorative Justice. Canberra : ANU Publications. “Facts and Statistics”. (2009) Criminal Justice.ca. Last Accessed April 14, 2010 http://www.vcn.bc.ca/august10/politics/facts_stats.html “What is Restorative Justice?”. (2009). RestorativeJustice.org. Last Accessed April 14, 2010 http://www.restorativejustice.org/university-classroom/01introduction Tonry, M.H. (2001). Penal reform in overcrowded times. London: Oxford University Press. Webster, C.M. & Doob, A.N. (2008). America in a Larger World. Criminology and Public Policy, 6(3), 473-483. Zimring, F.E. (2007). Protect Individual Punishment from Mandatory Penalties. University of Toronto Press: Toronto. Read More