Crim 1000 Lecture 1 Notes PDF

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First Lecture notes for crim 1000...

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Amber Montgomery - Collaborative Justice Program (CJP) ● Restorative Justice ○ A different way to overcome and move on from the criminal act ○ Ownership, restitution, apology, fix any issues that occured Process: ● Talk to a willing offender about what happened on their side. How they feel about it. See if they are showing remorse, they must show that they care about what they did. ○ Fully confidential, the information they talk about will only be communicated to the victim ● Works with both the victim and offender in order to help improve the situation ○ Only moves forward if the victim is interested ● Shuttle Mediation - Going back and forth between victim and offender ● Sometime letters are written directly to the other side ● If they are to meet both parties will be prepared in advance and they will understand what the other party wants to get out of the meeting ● Resolution Agreement: ○ CJP puts on paper everything that has happened to resolve the incident ○ Everything that should happen in order to restore damaged and resolve the issue ○ Goes to court once both parties have agreed to it ■ The court will take it into consideration ■ Does not mean that the offender will get a lighter sentence ● Addresses Crime in a much more meaningful ways and allows the offender to learn and grow from their mistake while also restoring any harm caused to the victim Chapter 7, Victimology and Victim Rights in Canada: ● Victims are “orphans” of the CJS ○ They are being ignored and are often looked at just as a witness to the crime ○ Prevention of crime is the best way to uphold victims rights ○ Bill of Rights for Victims (2014) ■ Addresses the needs of victims ● Ideal victim is: ○ Weak ○ Carrying out a respectable project ○ In wrong place ○ Victimized by a stranger ○ Strong enough to make her case known ● Canada only collects victimization surveys every 5 years ○ This info does not get sufficient attention from criminologists ○ 25% of Canadians victimized by theft or assault annually ■ Adult victims are more likely young(15-24) ○ 2.5 Billion dollars in costs, pain and suffering ● Victims have 8 core needs ○ Recognition ■ Want to be understood that harm was caused to them ○ Information ■ What is actually going to happen in the process of the case ○ Assistance

■ Access to services that are adequately funded Reparation ■ Make amends for how the accused affected the victim - Paid by the government rather that the offender (restitution) ○ Protection ■ Protection from the accused, somewhere to go or something to do ○ Participation and representation ■ Participation in the court proceedings ○ Effective Policies ■ We should put money into programs to help victims ○ Implementation ■ Need a way to ensure that these policies are enforced (consequences) Bill of Rights for Victims ○ Right to information ■ Victims have the rights to have information about the case or proceedings ■ Does not set up tangible ways for victims to actually receive this information ○ Right to Restitution ■ Has the right to have the court consider asking the offender give restitution ■ Has no mechanism to actually deliver this restitution ○ Right to protection ■ No mechanism ○ Right to participation ■ No mechanism ○ Right to Complain ■ Victims have to right to make complaints about the process or if their rights are not being met ■ There is a system to keep this in place but it is not well known Victim Impact Statement ○ A written or oral statement provided by the victim that allows them to explain how the event impacted them beyond physical harm ■ Allows the victim to participate and have some influence ■ Court must take this into consideration ■ Increase use of restitution ■ Can lead to overly harsh sentence ○ Harsh restrictions on what you can say in it Medicare provides free health services ○ Limited psychological counselling ○ PTSD is universally recognized as an issue related to victimization Waller’s five recommendations: ○ Funding ○ Professional standards ○ Mental health services ○ Education ○ Research In France, victims have legal standing in the courtroom and can have lawyers ○ Allows victims to defend their interests ○ Can voice concern ○ Can force a more thorough investigation ○ Can result in criminal court-tied restitution ○

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Police Courts and correction cost $20 billion annually ○ Waller believes that if we invest 10% of that (2$ billion) we could reduce losses to victim by 40$ billion

How would you shift government resources to reduce the number of victims of violence? ●

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Put more money into restorative justice systems. Stops repeat offenders and encourages others to accept responsibility and correct the situation ○ Shows that offenders have the ability to change and become functional member of society again. Offering help to people before they get to the point of committing a serious offense Rehabilitation for offenders once they make it out of the CJS...