Restorative justice canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Restorative justice canada - Essay Example th the victim and the offenders are actively involved in seeking for solutions to the problem of crime, with the offender being actively involved in seeking for forgiveness, by returning the stolen goods, repairing any property damaged or by conducting community service3. On the other hand, the victim is actively involved in creating forgiveness and then supporting the offender in the reform process. The principle of restorative justice is established on the basis that any crime that is committed by an offender does not only affect the victim, but the society at large4. In this respect, by merely fulfilling the legal needs of the criminal justice system which provides for nothing more than the punishment of the criminals, the society would still be left hurting, because both the offender and the victim have not benefited in the process. However, through the application of the restorative justice principle, the society is the main beneficiary, since both the offender and the victim and reconciled, and the community therefore establishes a platform for all people to live together in harmony, despite the mistakes previously committed5. The restorative justice system in Canada is based on a practical theory of justice, which focuses on crimes as offences against the victim and against the community, as opposed to the focusing on crimes as offences against the state6. The concept of victim-offender encounter was experimented in the 1970s in different Canadian communities, and it proved to be a worth course for establishing peace within the community, thus serving as a productive alternative to the criminal justice system7. Thus, the restorative justice system in Canada is based on three fundamental pillars. First, it is pitched on the aboriginal thought that defines crimes as an offence against the victim and the community, and not the state. This simply requires that a truce should be established between the offender and the victim, because they are components of the