Community Justice: The Potentials and Pitfalls of Restorative Justice in the Youth Community Justice Committee Setting.

Source: (2004) M.A. thesis, Legal Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.

This thesis discusses the theories and practices associated with reintegrative shaming in a community restorative justice context. It involves a study in which ten individuals were interviewed in pursuit of answers to the following questions. First, “What does the community believe to be its role in justice administration?â€? Second, “Is there a tendency in legislation to paint an overly positive conceptualization of the community, which results in community members feeling as if they have not only a responsibility but a right to be involved in justice matters?â€? Finally, “Is reintegrative shaming being practiced in community justice groups as the theory advocates?â€? My work exposed a gap between the transfer of theoretical tenets of reintegrative shaming to the processes used in Youth Justice Committees. It ultimately recommends closer involvement between policy makers and program managers to ensure the practice of reintegrative shaming focuses on the act and not the actor. Furthermore, it suggests program evaluations be carried out on a regular basis to determine the consistency and adherence to restorative justice theories. Author’s abstract.