Source: (2003) Criminology and Public Policy. 3(4):651-654.
Although there is considerable debate today on the meaning and place of “the community†in criminal justice, restorative justice, and community justice, Karp, Drakulich, Crawford, and Boyes-Watson agree there are significant benefits of bringing lay people more fully into criminal justice decision-making. None cites problems of excessive penalty setting or punitiveness by lay people, which were of concern to some in the early days of community justice schemes. The more vexed set of philosophical, legal and policy questions, which will be with us for some time, is how do we bring victims and “a victim perspective†more fully into justice practices, which for so long have been offender-centered. (excerpt)
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