IndexIntroductionWhat is restorative justice?What are some of the strategies the Bahamas can apply to facilitate restorative justice?ConclusionIntroductionA 2016 IDB report entitled IDB The Series on crime and violence in the Caribbean confirmed what the Bahamian public has long known, that the steadily increasing crime rate in the Bahamas is alarming and a cause for concern. The abstract states that the goal of the series is “to establish a baseline in the field of crime prevention against which progress can be assessed.” Based on data obtained from a variety of sources, including the Royal Bahamas Police Force and public health sources, the spike in crime occurred over a ten-year period, with a particular spike in violent crime ( including but not limited to murders, armed assaults) robberies and rapes. According to the report, the homicide rate in the Bahamas has more than doubled in a 10-year span and is now among the highest in the Caribbean region. Say no to plagiarism. Request a custom “Why” essay. Shouldn't violent video games be banned? Various methods have been proposed and implemented by past and present administrations to reduce the crime problem plaguing our society. But it is important to evaluate whether any of these approaches to crime prevention/. Deterrence has been as successful or promising in application as it has been in theory. A portion of the report titled Laws, Policies, and Strategies for Reducing Crime and Violence recognizes two initiatives launched in 2011 and 2013 under two different administrations, respectively. As part of these “anti-crime legislative packages” both administrations have proposed increasing sentences for particularly serious crimes. In response to this, the IDB made a striking observation: “Given the challenges within the criminal justice system discussed in this report – including unsolved crimes, significant obstacles to the efficient conduct of criminal trials, and overcrowding in the prison system – it is worth asking whether longer and more severe sentences are really the solution to the perceived problem of criminal impunity.” In the spirit of this statement, I intend to use this article to explore the ways in which restorative justice processes, having proven to be effective in addressing crime and recidivism in numerous other jurisdictions, could be used in the Bahamas to aid in the social control of crime. . I would go so far as to assume that restorative justice could, in fact, be the solution to most crimes in the Bahamas. To begin, we must first explain: what is restorative justice? For the implementation of restorative justice theory to be effective, it is important that Bahamians are educated on exactly what it entails. This is especially true when it relates to individuals who have a vested interest in eradicating crime. This would include parliamentarians, law enforcement officers, public health officials, legal professionals, offenders and their victims. Perhaps most importantly, successful implementation of restorative justice strategies would require the Bahamian public, as stakeholders in their own right, to embrace the idea and educate themselves. The UK's Restorative Justice Council, on its website, describes restorative justice as follows: "Restorative justice is about victims and offenders communicating within a controlled environment to talk about the harm that has been caused and find a way torepair it." Albert Fiadjoe, author of the book "Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Developing World Perspective" summarizes on page 122 that “The fundamental principle of restorative justice is that crime is a violation of people and relationships and a breakdown of community peace It challenges the conventional view that crime is only an offense against the…State.” Supporters of restorative justice argue that its processes address deficiencies in the criminal justice system, in particular: neglect of emotional needs and materials from crime victims; the failure to address the harm done to affected parties; the fact that the only remedies available (fines and imprisonment) are inadequate to provide real restitution; but they take place at a slow pace. The injustice suffered is an issue between the offender and the State, completely ignoring it. It deprives offenders of an experience that can be an integral part of their rehabilitation: opportunity to take responsibility; to understand and come to terms with the fact that victims are not abstract ideas or simply means to an end. The victims are not only the immediate victims of the crime (who may be deceased), but also other stakeholders such as family members and entire communities of other human beings who have been negatively affected by the consequences of their actions. Although such conversations between offenders and victims can sometimes become contentious, with offenders rationalizing their actions, the overall experience can prove valuable to both parties. Fiadjoe postulates that the following are the key principles on which restorative justice is based: The crime is primarily against the victim and secondarily against the State. Restitution is important to restore the relationship between victim and offender. Restitution can be achieved through reparation, usually in the form of compensation or some form of community service. Reconciliation between victim and offender is also seen as an important goal of restorative justice, but this is not universally the case. Some people believe that victims should not be pressured to forgive and reconcile with the perpetrator until they are ready to do so. Communication and negotiation between the victim and the offender are possible and often desirable to consider how to right the wrong. Offenders are required to take responsibility for their actions and have the opportunity to make amends. The reason why restorative justice has been found to have such a strong effect in reducing reoffending is that, when facilitated by trained staff, such interactions between offenders and their victims can be therapeutic. In fact, it provides closure for both parties by allowing victims to express how they have been personally affected and to ask questions, and by allowing offenders the opportunity to explain things from their perspective (often humanizing them in the eyes of the victims), taking responsibility for their actions and making amends for their behavior. It also creates an opportunity for both the offender and the victim to collaboratively negotiate a restitution plan that serves their mutual interests. This allows the parties to be creative in how restitution is made. For some, restitution may mean restoring losses by physically returning what was taken or paying money. For others, it may mean performing manual labor for the victim or engaging in community service. Otherwise, victims can also propose other forms of restitution that they find satisfactory. The ultimate goal is thatwhatever is done is done in the spirit of providing closure and reintegrating the victim or offender into the community. What are some of the strategies the Bahamas can apply to facilitate restorative justice? There are three modalities of restorative justice generally used. Namely, (a) family group conferences (where there is a larger number of participants, including community representatives); (b) victim-offender mediation (where two parties are assisted by a qualified mediator); and (c) sentencing and healing circles (which draw on earlier forms of alternative dispute resolution in which community elders would facilitate the process). It would often take place during sentencing or after imprisonment, allowing the offender to acknowledge responsibility for the harm caused and reintegrate into society. The UK Restorative Justice Council, on their website mentioned above, describes one of the restorative justice strategies employed in the UK, specifically: “Restorative justice conferences, where a victim meets their abuser, are led by a facilitator who supports and prepares the people who take part and ensures that the process is safe. Sometimes, when a face-to-face meeting is not the best solution, the facilitator will arrange for the victim and the offender to communicate via letters, recorded interviews or videos... In order for any type of communication to take place, l The offender must have admitted to the crime, and both the victim and the offender must be willing to participate. "As an example of a circumstance in which face-to-face encounters are not the best solution, we can consider domestic crimes such as sexual violence. In a 2005 article entitled “The Limits of Restorative Justice,” Arlène Gaudreault, president and founding member of the Quebec Victims Advocacy Association, said that restorative justice should not be “immediately accepted as the answer to all crimes,” she believes that it is an imperative part of the restorative justice process that victims and their interests are prioritized , and that questions of whether a conversation is desired and whether certain relationships should be preserved are worth considering. This is a sentiment that has also been echoed by key stakeholders in our society, such as Dr. Sandra Dean- Patterson, director of the Bahamas Crisis Center, is quoted as saying in a 2005 Bahama Journal article: “The psychological element of restorative justice can be beneficial to both the offender and the victims, where the offenders are. They take responsibility for the pain and wounds they inflicted." He continued: “My only reservation concerns cases of sexual violence. Officials really want to make sure that the victim has undergone his recovery. We also need to make sure they are ready for this type of healing.” Still others believe that the key to forgiveness is the refusal to seek revenge, such as columnist Giles Fraser, a London priest, in his article of the same title. He argues: It is a similar feeling of unease that one can have with forgiveness itself, which undermines the fundamental logic of proportionality that underlies most moral thinking – that the scales of justice require some kind of balance. The crime must be compensated by a proportionate amount of punishment. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Forgiveness ignores all of this, which is why it exists beyond right and wrong. However, the problem with the retributive model of justice, built as it is on the moral instinct of proportionality, is that it caneasily serve to perpetuate violence and hatred – one of them. act of violence that leads to another in response, which can provoke yet another, and so on. The feud that can exist between families is the most striking example of how responding to violence with violence can be a potentially never-ending affair, with old hatreds always generating new ones. In his article he examines the distinctive restorative justice experience of Brighton attackers Patrick Magee and Jo Berry. Patrick Magee had planted 16 bombs in various cities in 1978 and 1984, one of which blew up the Grand Hotel in Brighton during the Conservative Party conference, killing five people. Berry's father, Sir Anthony Berry, was killed in the 1984 explosion. Patrick Magee planted 16 bombs in various cities in 1978 and 1984, one of which blew up the Grand Hotel in Brighton during the party conference conservative, killing five people. Alternatively, there are also those who believe that restorative justice processes should not be applied where serious crimes are concerned. This is the opinion of Tom Whitehead, author of the article "Violent offenders avoid courts with soft justice." To do so, in his view, would be to break widely held social conventions about what justice truly is. If offenders are not required to appear before a judge and are not provided with criminal records, this leaves victims and their communities with no sense of resolution. He is also wary of the danger of restorative justice being abused and used as a tool to keep offenders out of prison. As mentioned earlier in the introduction, restorative justice has proven to be an effective deterrent against crime and recidivism in numerous other jurisdictions. . In the text Fiadjoe states that restorative justice has, in fact, proven to be even more effective than criminal justice systems. In terms of improving satisfaction for both parties and ensuring offender compliance with restitution orders, statistics show that restorative justice processes are more effective. For example, Fiadjoe refers to comments made by the Information and Resource Center of Canada's Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program, which report that “after confronting the victims of their crimes, offenders commit fewer and less serious crimes than to similar offenders who are processed by the traditional juvenile or criminal justice system.” Fiadjoe believes this can only happen when states like the Bahamas adopt an integrated approach to crime control, implementing strategies that “help society devise collective approaches to conflict in every sphere of society.” According to him these include: community initiatives that engage the public in constructive alternatives to the current criminal justice model, the development of restorative justice initiatives, training and evaluation programmes. School and youth initiatives that involve children in early learning and practicing conflict problem solving, supporting teachers and schools who teach and practice creating a peaceful learning environment and improving problem solving opportunities in schools . Environmental and public policy initiatives that involve citizens in consensus-building processes on important public issues. Organizational and workplace initiatives that encourage approaches to workplace conflict that support healthy, respectful relationships. Media and conflict representation initiatives that help media personnel develop analytical skills.