NCJ Number
156121
Journal
Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 46 Issue: 2 Dated: (Spring 1995) Pages: 31-42
Date Published
1995
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article defines accountability for juvenile offenders as an intervention strategy within the context of the restorative justice paradigm.
Abstract
In the restorative justice paradigm, the meaning of accountability shifts the focus from incurring a debt to society to that of incurring a responsibility for making amends to the victimized person, from passively taking punishment to making things right. Rather than emphasizing punishment of past criminal behavior, accountability in the restorative justice paradigm taps into the offender's strengths and competencies to take direct and active responsibility to compensate the victim for material or emotional losses. A punitive form of accountability, in which offenders usually remain in a passive role and have little understanding of the real impact their behavior had on other people is de-emphasized. Instead, offenders are empowered to take direct and active responsibility to repair the damage they caused to the people they victimized. Suggested accountability interventions under the restorative justice paradigm are summarized in this article. They include financial restitution with victim input, victim-directed community work service, personal service to victim, victim-offender groups, victim- offender mediation, and a continuum of mediation interventions in juvenile court. 7 tables and 23 references