Need to include more of the readings used with the SAW course
Restorative Justice (CRM325)
SPRING 2009
Professor:Carol DiMambro
Office:Rathbone Hall 105, Albany Campus
Office Hours:TTH 11:00 a.m.-12:50 p.m. and other times by appointment
Contact:Work: 292-8629; 692-9882 (H),
AIM screen name: ProfDiMambro
Facebook & Facebook group: Sage Students
Course Description: This course is an introduction to the restorative justice paradigm, which emphasizes the restoration and healing of relationships affected by crime, offender accountability for the harm caused, and the empowerment of victims and communities in responding to crime and justice. The course will compare and contrast a restorative justice model with the dominant retributive/punitive model of justice and explore the roles, experiences, and needs of key stakeholders in both models. Established and emerging practices and programs of restorative justice will be examined.
Learning Outcomes: The following five key learning outcomes have been identified for this course. The course content, readings, discussions, assignments, and evaluation methods have been specifically designed to help students successfully fulfill these outcomes.
- Students will be able to describe the key concepts and basic principles of restorative justice and compare and contrast these principles with the characteristics of retributive/punitive justice.
- Students will be able to critique the principles of restorative justice as they are applied in a variety of settings and contexts.
- Students will be able to compare and contrast the role, experiences, and needs of victims, offenders, and communities in the restorative and retributive models of justice.
- Students will be able to identify and evaluate a range of restorative justice practices and programs.
- Students will be able to identify potential problems and obstacles inherent in implementing a restorative justice framework within the current structure of the U.S. criminal justice system.
Expectations: CRM 325Restorative Justice is an upper-level criminal justice course. It is assumed that students enrolling in this course will have completed the prerequisite (CRM111) and preferably one or more additional criminal justice courses. The 300-level designation of this course implies that students’ work will be more advanced than work completed in lower-level criminal justice courses. Students who do not contribute at this level will find their grades reflect their level of effort.
Readings:
Zehr, H. 2002. The Little Book of Restorative Justice. Intercourse, PA: Good Books.
ISBN: 1-56148-376-1
Christian, T.F. 2005. Justice Restored: The Gary Geiger and Wayne Blanchard Story. Portland, OR: Inkwater Press.
ISBN: 1-59299-152-1
Besides these two very short books, this course will depend on articles, website, and audio/video resources available in Moodle.
Course Structure: Although this course is taught on-campus, some of the reading materials are available as web links in Moodle. You can either read the articles online or print them. Some of the “readings” are videos that will need to be viewed online or in class. Students are expected to read the materials assigned and complete the assignments in a timely manner according to the due dates provided in the outline. Please contact me if you have any questions about using Moodle, the readings, or the assignments. My role is to facilitate your learning in this course and I will be most successful in this role if you let me know if you have any difficulties.
Course Dates:
Introduction to Restorative Justice (January 20)
Module I: Restorative Justice: A Shift in Paradigm(January 22, 27, 29 & February 3)
Module II: The Corner Posts of Restorative Justice(February 5, 10, 12, 17, 19)
Application Activity A (February 24 & February 26)
Module III: Restorative Justice in Action(March 3 & March 5; March 17, 19, 24)
Application ActivityB (March 26, 31, April 2)
Module IV: The Challenge of Restorative Justice(April 7, 9)
Classwork on CAB Presentation (April 14)
Application ActivityC (April 16, 21, 23,--complete during finals week)
The report will be due on April 23rd. The presentation to CAB and invited others will need to be scheduled.
Evaluation
Assignments45%
CAB activities25%
Application Activities30%
Total100%
Assignments (45%)
Questions included in the assignment will be geared toward the learning outcomes provided for the module. The assignments prepare students to complete the application activities. Assignments will be due weekly and depend on the readings.
Application Activities (30%)
There are three application activities. The application activities take the place of the exams in a traditional course format. The activities are created in such a way that students will need to apply what they’ve learned from the readings and the assignments to a specific scenario. The application activities are cumulative, meaning that each activity builds on the materials from previous modules. Since they are cumulative, the values of the activities differ (A=5%, B=10%, C=15%). Because the activities are time-consuming, a minimum of a week has been set aside for each activity. Details on each application activity will be provided in class.
Community Accountability Board (25%)
Students will participate in the Community Accountability Board (CAB) as one of their application assignments (see attached article). The following information is taken from the CAB website:
“Statement of Purpose: The Community Accountability Board (Board) shall provide the Justice and City Courts with a sentencing option for offenders charged with quality of life offenses. The Board shall provide victims, the community and offenders with a reparative experience without expending correctional resources that can be used more effectively for serious criminal offenders. The Board will provide a service delivery system for the community and a system for community involvement in criminal justice decision making.
The Board will provide an alternative to traditional criminal justice responses to offenses and focus on repairing damage to victims of crime, work toward reweaving the fabric of our community and promote resource leveraging. The Board shall provide the opportunity for offenders to complete specific activities designed to restore victims and repair our community, while simultaneously enabling offenders to learn about the impact of their offenses and ways to avoid re-offending.
The Board is comprised of citizen volunteers and shall engage in the following:
1) Meaningful dialogue with offenders, victims, and members of the community;
2) Lead the discussion about the activities that brought an offender to the Board and repairing damage to victims and reweaving the fabric of our community;
3) Develop a Reparative Accountability Agreement with Offenders;
4) Provide recommendations and information to all parties engaged in the process; and
5) Report to the Coordinator.”
There are three major parts to this assignment: 1) Attend CAB sessions, 2) Conduct interviews, and 3) Prepare a report and presentation.
Attend CAB sessions
As part of this assignment, students will attend three CAB sessions (once a month, same week each month). The CAB meets on T, TH at 6 p.m. at:
Capital Region Prayer and Healing Center
553 Clinton Avenue
Albany, New York12206
(518) 432-7100
Students may complete the assignment as an individual, a pair, or in a group of three (maximum size). It is recommended that you travel together or make plans to meet at the Center, no matter how you decide to complete the assignment.
Conduct Interviews
There will be opportunities to dialogue with participants in the process including those who make the referrals to CAB, CAB Board members, defendants, possibly victims, and the District Attorney’s staff who coordinate the program.
Prepare a report and presentation
Students will complete a report that covers the information that gained from attending the sessions and their interviews. All of the experiences of the class will be combined into a presentation to the Board members and other invited parties.
Complete directions for the CAB activity will be distributed on Tuesday, January 27, 2009.
Academic Policies
The Spirit Of Learning: Statement On Appropriate Conduct On Campus
All members of The Sage Colleges community are expected to conduct themselves in a way which respects the learning environment. Thus, Sage has the right to remove any student from a classroom, other academic area, or program at any time if the student’s behavior is contrary to the spirit of learning or hinders the operation of the program in any way. Violent, disruptive, harassing or intimidating behavior is not tolerated in the classroom or any other place on campus. Any student whose conduct disrupts a class or other learning environment may be required to leave the premises immediately and subjected to disciplinary and/or legal action.
Americans With Disabilities Act
The Sage Colleges is committed to responding to the needs of students with disabilities, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act. A student seeking academic adjustments under the Americans with Disabilities Act must make a request in writing to The Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities. Any student in need of classroom assistance or modification under the Americans with Disabilities Act must inform the instructor of the needed adjustment no later than the first week of class, and provide documentation from the Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities. The Coordinator can be contacted in Troy at 45 Ferry Street, TroyNY12180 (518) 244-6874 or in Albany at 140 New Scotland Avenue, AlbanyNY12208 (518) 292-8624.
Policy On Academic Honesty
Academic dishonesty in any of its forms, including cheating, plagiarism, misuse of SageNet, and failure to comply with guidelines for the conduct of human research, will not be tolerated at The Sage Colleges. A full statement of the policy on Academic Honesty can be found as an appendix to the Student Conduct Code on The Sage Colleges web site. A hard copy can be requested from the Dean of Students in Albany Kahl Campus Center 145 (518) 292-1753 or in Troy Cowee Hall 2nd Floor 244-2207.
For guidance in proper referencing of sources, as well as how to avoid plagiarism, consult the most recent editions of the following works, which are available in the reference section of the libraries on the Troy and Albany campus.
- Joseph Gibaldi and Walter S. Achtert, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers,New York, Modern Language Association.
- Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations,Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
- American Psychological Association Publication Manual for the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., American Psychological Association.
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