Shaping Public Opinion - Essay Example

Persuasive Communication: Making a Difference, Annotated Letter - Shaping Public Opinion Essay 2 200 words Assessment Portfolio (Part 1) Persuasive Communication: Making a Difference Should the age of criminal responsibility change? Customer Name Home Address e-mail date To Crispin Blunt House of Commons Dear Mr Blunt, I’m addressing to you to oppose any actions of the Parliamentary Groups and UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to vote against the change of criminal responsibility age. Analyzing a number of sources, concerning this issue, I became absolutely concerned in the further ineffectiveness of this measure. In order to prove this theory, it is necessary to revise the situation, happened in the late 90’s, when the rate of crimes reached an extremely high level. 1Since 1999, the legal presumption stated that children under the age of 14 did not realize the consequences of their actions. However, watching the rate of crimes, it was rapidly abolished and considered as inadequate. Consequently, we managed to form the law, which helped to reduce the level of crimes in the country. Modern legislation considers the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales as 10. The opponents of the idea of preservation of this law measure operate by the facts, which bear more humanistic than reasonable character. However, it is important to maintain the legally based order for the sake of future stability and safety of the population. 2The main argument, which causes such a discourse, represents the case of murder of James Bulger by two teenagers, aged 10 and 11. However, it is the only case in the last few decades, which demonstrates the disadvantages of modern legislative system. 3Lord Lowry supports this point of view by stating that 10 is the appropriate age for bearing responsibility for one’s own actions. He considers that the change of criminal age from 10 to 12-14 can provide the increase in the level of crimes in the country. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child explains their position by the mental, emotional and maternal peculiarities of the children of 10. However, the attitude of the Government towards this issue remains unchangeable, in the argument that children of this age are subjected to the psychological pressure of the society and their parents, but they have already formed their character. Thus, if it is aggressive and has a potential threat for others, it is better to take the appropriate measures as soon as possible. In some cases, there is a risk that children, who have not attained the age of criminal responsibility, can be used by adults in committing the criminal acts. The minimum age of criminal responsibility should be applied equally to all children, consisting in conflict with the law, irrespective of the gravity of the offense and the age at which the crime was committed. The reason, I apply for your assistance is that I managed to study your position as for this issue and I totally agree with you. The children of 10 have a good understanding of the acts they do and it is appropriate to hold them to count for their actions in case of crime committing. The decision of the Parliament, which provides the police with more rights to intervene the actions of the young offenders, is just and reasonable, considering the increased number of bulling cases and school disorders.  4"The law is not only concerned with passing sentence in court, its also concerned with prediction and risk assessment”. Thus, in order to predict and prevent the development of crime, the citizens must be aware of the consequences, which follow it. 5The opinion of Justice Minister, Lord McNally, expresses that the crimes of the children of age 10-13 begin with the inappropriate behavior of their parents, particularly alcohol and drug abuse. Thus, the legislative system does not imprison children of this age in order to punish them, but it contains the number of measures, which are aimed to care for their further psychological state and eliminate the possibility of its reoffending. It is clear that the treatment of adult criminals and children have the significant differences. Adults bear the punishment for the actions, they had committed, while children overcome the barriers of their psychological deviance. Taking into consideration all these reasons, I believe it is inappropriate to change the age of criminal responsibility. The stability of this issue of legislative system provided the population of Great Britain and Wales with the safety life style and strengthened the restrictions of parents in relation to children in expression of their aggressiveness and uncontrolled behavior. It formed the particular standards and norms established within the society, which nowadays are under the threat of extinction. It predetermines that the provided system of discipline will undergo more negative than positive changes. In addition, it should be mentioned that the legislative system is responsible for the maintenance of order in the society despite the age range. Consequently, I ask you to vote against the change of the age of criminal responsibility. Yours, sincerely. Customer Name Assessment Portfolio (Part 2) Annotated Letter - Shaping Public Opinion Restorative justice Dear Sir I’m concerned that reporting of the current “Eileen’s story6” provides the audience with the new look on the methods of the restorative justice. 7Restorative justice practices the heeling of the offended person by means of interpersonal relationships and attracting the society to the resolution of the problem. Some people have negative attitude to the restorative justice, fearing that it strives at all costs to forgive the offender. In fact, the restorative justice predetermines the agreement between the two sides, but it depends entirely on the persons will and is obligatory for a dispute settlement procedure. 8“The fundamental premise of restorative practices is that people are happier, more cooperative and productive, and more likely to make positive changes when those in authority do things with them, rather than to them or for them.” Restorative justice has the ability in different ways to make a positive impact on the traditional acts of retributive justice. The settlement of issues within the framework of restorative justice procedures is able to release the retributive justice from doing things that can be easily and efficiently solved by methods of restorative justice. Restorative justice, however, is not intended to replace the traditional system of legislation. It is applicable not always and not in all cases, that is, can exist as an additional system alongside the retributive justice. Yours faithfully, Customer Name Position, Institution Restorative justice considers crime as primarily harm to the victim, rather than violation of criminal law. In this case, crime is understood as an imbalance in the local community due to the unjust behavior in relation to the victim. The main ethical category, which predetermined the creation of all legislative system, is justice. The content of justice had various identifications, depending on the epoch. The development of restorative justice was historically predetermined and acquired the features of the ancient system, when the trial of the criminal was held within the community, including the relatives of the offender, the victim and the relatives of the victim to impose sanctions, using their ideas of justice. The possibility of the crime in such societies was smaller because of the necessity to look into the eyes of the victim. It had a greater impact on humans than modern justice, which can be perceived only as a surmountable obstacle to the achievement of the particular benefits. Thus, the offenders underwent the feeling of shame. Shame ethically can be defined as "moral sense, arising from a conviction of one’s act”. In contrast to the conscience, which is the only internal reaction of the person to the violation of the moral demands, shame is associated with the fear of condemnation of the actions or negative attitude of others towards these actions. Restorative justice is based on three main principles. The first principle focuses on identifying and addressing the needs of the victim. I this case, the task of the offender compensate the victim her moral and physical losses. The second fundamental principle of restorative justice: the offender must take responsibility for his behavior. The majority of the problems in this case arise from the absence of the feeling of responsibility. It seems that modern culture contains a lot of violations, which must be restricted. In addition, the offender confuses the items of responsibility and punishment. 9“Studies of restorative programs in the United States and Britain report varying levels of victim satisfaction”. The programs of restorative justice in the UK are accepted as effective new therapy, for those, who suffered from the public offence. The third fundamental principle of restorative justice is participation and involvement. It is assumed that people who are directly involved in the case, will have the opportunity to speak. This applies not only to the perpetrator and the victim, but also to those who were somehow offended by the actions of the offender, which caused damage to them. These people have the right and opportunity to actively participate in the process of restorative justice, clarifying on their position in the case. Restorative justice avoids the further escalation of the conflict, predetermines more rapid return of the offender into the society, meets the needs of the victims of crimes and returns the significance to the fundamental social values. Instead of imposing on the offender a symbolic responsibility, which is the punishment, restorative justice allows the person to take real action and opens up the possibility for restitution. The “Eileen’s story” represents the example of the successful application of restorative justice. If Eileen’s problem was solved by the standard legislative punishment, her mother would not have the opportunity to overcome her anger and help Eileen to cope with her psychological disorder. The meeting of Eileen’s mother with the offenders showed her that the girls regretted the things they had done and felt ashamed of their actions. Thus, Eileen’s mother managed to understand them despite all the sorrow, which Eileen had faced. The actions of the authorities in this case reveal the high level of responsibility, considering their rapid respond to the situation with Eileen. Taking into consideration all these factors, it becomes obvious that the system of restorative justice functions in a proper way. Thus, restorative justice is not forgiveness. 10“Forgiveness is neither an expectation nor a goal of restorative justice. Forgiveness may be a by-product, but the notion that a crime victim should forgive an offender imposes unrealistic and potentially hurtful demands on a crime victim”. It means that the victim should not have sympathy or forgiveness to the offender, but restorative justice helps to understand his motives. Restorative justice encourages people to rethink their goals and criteria of "success". In restorative justice the successful result is revealed through the collaboration of both sides and establishment the agreement between them. If it is difficult for one of them to enforce the terms of the agreement, for example, due to the personal circumstances, it is possible to hold other negotiations, in order to review the terms of the agreement. Restorative justice includes not only consideration of the interests of the victim, but also the public intervention in the whole process. Such a system creates a triangle "victim - offender - community", but with another element - feedback, which is formed as a result of the recovery process, and its data are transmitted to the authorities responsible for the production of strategies aimed to reduce the levels of crime, as well as agencies of social policy. The process can be implemented by different means: through discussion at mediation sessions without the Criminal Code; through the use of warnings in case of minor offenses; moderately serious crimes may first go through a process of restorative justice before transmission to the court for a decision, but the most serious crimes are considered by the court, but in this case there is a place for mediation or conferences that can be used to determine a plan of action and reparations of the offender. Finally, the courts may play a role in the enforcement of agreements, considering the cases in which the defendant refuses to plead the guilty, and monitor the process in order to ensure its maximum recovery. It is important to understand that the community response to the crime should not only focus on the offender or the victim. Community should think about the contribution it can make to the restoration of justice and compensation of the damage as well as the measures of reduction of such crimes in future - even if these measures will mean the structural changes in the community. Summing it up, it should be noted that restorative justice is a new approach to respond to crime, which protects the interests of the victim in the beneficial and effective way. Bibliography Dean, J. Age of criminal responsibility will not change, says government. The Law Society Gazette, 2010. Retrieved from: http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/age-of-criminal-responsibility-will-not-change-says-government/58559.fullarticle The Mail story. Retrieved from: http://www.restorativejustice.org.uk/rj-in-action/eileens_story/ Gerry, F. Young offenders: raising the age of criminal responsibility. Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk/young-offenders-raising-the-age-of-criminal-responsibility/ Jha, A. Age of criminal responsibility is too low, say brain scientists. Neuroscience, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/dec/13/age-criminal-responsibility-brain-scientists Lipscombe, S. The age of Criminal responsibility in England and Wales. House of Commons Library, 2012. Retrieved from: file:///C:/Users/%D0%98%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B0/Downloads/SN03001.pdf Maiese, M. Restorative justice. Beyond Intractability, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/restorative-justice International Institute for Restorative Practices. What is restorative practices?, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.iirp.edu/what-is-restorative-practices.php Ministry of justice. The benefits and risks of restorative justice, 1996. Retrieved from: http://www.justice.govt.nz/publications/publications-archived/1996/restorative-justice-a-discussion-paper-1996/chapter-5-the-benefits-and-risks-of-restorative-justice The Independent. Children and crime: the age of criminal responsibility restored to 14. UK News, 1995. Retrieved from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/children-and-crime--age-of-criminal-responsibility-restored-to-14-1611502.html Watchtel, T. Restorative Justice is not forgiveness. Huff Post Crime, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ted-wachtel/restorative-justice-is-no_b_2567653.html Read More