Critically explore the needs of victims of crime Essays

Critically explore the needs of victims of crime Essays Critically explore the needs of victims of crime Essay Critically explore the needs of victims of crime Essay Critically research the demands of victims of offense and the services presently provided for them. Include mention to the demands of the victim motion and the restrictions of the current condemnable justness system. The recent old ages in the UK and throughout the universe has seen the importance and influence of human rights turning. This has had an consequence on the jurisprudence as a whole, but alternatively of the good of society being protected by legislative act and common jurisprudence the person has come to the head, i.e. an individual’s rights can non be derogated unless a set standard is followed. Therefore this focal point on the person has non merely given stricter regulations for the tribunals and constabularies to follow in regard to suspected and convicted felons, it has besides laid an accent on the single victim and the resources, after-care and support, every bit good the consequence on condemning in regard to condemnable instances and damages or compensation in regard to civil instances. The recent rise of the function of victims in the Criminal Justice system is extremely of import, which will be identified in the treatment of renewing justness. The function theoretical account for integrating the victim supplying damages and their demands can be seen in Australia within Victorian Criminal Justice System. Therefore this instance survey is traveling to research non the medical aid that victims need and which have been procured, but their hunt for justness and damages. It is here that the victim’s rights groups are naming for justness, as seen in the recent Home Office Survey of Victim’s Rights Groups wants, i.e. a true function for the victim in the Justice system, particularly Condemnable Justice: To truly reflect the demands of victims, the societal rights referred to in the paper The societal rights of victims of offense should be included in the new Charter, clearly placing the bureaus responsible for presenting them.[ 1 ] Renewing Justice: Developing options to tribunal based systems which have focused upon the wrongdoer and have tended to disregard the victim has been a major subject of condemnable justness reform in Australia and elsewhere. Known as ‘restorative’ or ‘reintegrative’ justness, these strategies aim to convey wrongdoers and victims together in order to decide jobs, shame wrongdoers into discontinuing their offending behaviors and besides to alleviate some of the force per unit areas on the tribunals. Building upon the Criminal Justice Diversion Program in the Magistrates’ Court, the Review suggests that consideration be given to puting the plan on a statutory terms by associating it to the deferred condemning proviso in s.83A of the Sentencing Act 1991 ( Vic ) .[ 2 ] This is the most modern logical thinking for condemning and balances the assorted elements of the sentencing, such as the victim’s needs, the rehabilitation of the wrongdoer, involvements of protecting society. It could be adapted to include public sentiment, but in the involvements of justness it would necessitate to be informed public sentiment because the theory is Rawlsian in nature, which consequences in a theory from the point of view of justness. Rawl’s in his thesis for breeding equality provinces that justness [ 3 ] is the premier footing of all authorities and to guarantee justness, the entree to justness for all is the obvious agencies and terminal to guarantee justness is fulfilled ; hence in the Criminal Justice system this would include the entree to justness for the wrongdoer, the victim, and the rights for the populace to voice their sentiment on sentencing of a convicted felon. Rawl’s theory is based on a few cardinal thoughts, which are therights and responsibilitiesof government/institution of society and theloads and benefitsof citizens co-operating. Rawls bases his theory that each person has an built-in and inviolable being set in justness – this being can non be overridden for the public assistance of the society. This theory does non fall foul to the statements against modern utilitarianism. Rawl’s does utilize the societal contract fiction of Hobbes and Locke, nevertheless the foo ting of traveling from ignorance ( province of nature ) is ground and this ground set up on rules of justness that his societal contract is based upon. These rules are ; 1 ) that each individual has basic rights and autonomies in conformity with freedom ; and 2 ) there is distributive justness, where inequalities are restrained by thegreatest benefit of least advantagedand each individual has the status ofjust equality of chance. These rules can non be derogated for the public good and autonomy is the supreme rule. Rawl’s theory is really of import when looking at justness theories because it begins to undertake the catholicity of justness based on justness, every bit good as the inequalities apparent in society. Therefore Rawls would let for renewing justness but requital would be unfair, instead aims to rehabilitate and return the culprit to society would be appropriate, i.e. in order for the culprit to counterbalance society every bit good as aiddegree the playing fieldbec ause it is normally deficiency of chance and poorness that causes offense and if the culprit is rehabilitated and educated so society will be benefited. Rawls would reason that there is a function for the victim in the sentencing process and for public sentiment every bit long as the culprit is non capable to hatred, bias and retribution that would be the fright if public sentiment was allowed to take over the proceedings. Rather Rawls would reason at that place needs to be a balance between the rights of the culprit, the public’s sentiment and its protection and the victim’s entree to justness. There still needs to be the regulation of jurisprudence and objectiveness but within the kingdom of these new considerations. In add-on to include public sentiment it needs to be balanced and informed, if there is prejudices created by sensationalism it would neglect the basic premiss of this theory and fail in application. It is possible that the perfect theoretical account th e Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council has met these obstructions and created a system that allows an appropriate mixture of these elements. Victorian Sentencing – The Victim Role in the Criminal Justice System: The VSAC was set up in order to further enable the function of the victim in the sentencing process, a motion in the Victorian legal system since the 1970’s. Therefore guaranting that there was merely condemning every bit good as leting for the victim to hold a sufficient statutory function in the sentencing process. This follows guaranting that the victim plays a proper function in regard to the condemnable justness system. Yet in order for at that place non to be retaliatory and retribution sentencing and in order to halt tainting of the test before the judgement the function of the victim is closely monitored. The VSAC is the latest motion for statutorily protecting the function of the victim’s, this has earlier roots which protects the victim’s entree to justness and to a lesser extent the offender’s entree to justness began within Section 5 of the Sentencing Act 1991, even though the function of community and society’s engagement in the Victori an Criminal Justice System dates farther than this. Section s of the Sentencing Act 1991 ensures: Merely penalty to penalize the wrongdoer to an extent and in a mode which is merely in all of the fortunes ; Specific and general disincentive to discourage the wrongdoer or other individuals from perpetrating offenses of the same or a similar character ; Rehabilitation to set up conditions within which it is considered by the tribunal that the rehabilitation of the wrongdoer may be facilitated ; Denunciation to denounce the type of behavior engaged in by the wrongdoer ; Community protection to protect the community from the wrongdoer ; or a combination of two or more of the above intents. [ 4 ] Therefore this limits the function of the victim and ensures that the defendant’s rights and the victim’s rights and community positions are balanced. It besides allows for informed public sentiment to be taken into history in the sentencing process. This sentencing process takes the positions of victims and the populace in to account through a exhaustively monitored mode, instead than leting the imperativeness to hold a field twenty-four hours and public call and the feelings of the victim to defile the intents of justness as will be seen in the treatment environing the US attack to victim’s rights. The Victorian sentencing process allows for the victim’s positions to be taken in the signifier of an impact statement and this lone occurs if the suspect is found guilty, i.e. this system does non let such positions to defile the defendant’s right to a just hearing. In add-on sentencing is gauged against informed public sentiment instead than the call of the uneducated or the enraged. The purpose of this statement and the usage of public sentiment are to let the justice to understand the effects of the offense on the victim and society so that there is a libertine understanding on the effects of the offense on the society and the single [ 5 ] . This statement can merely be done through a statutory declaration orally or in authorship and so the victim may be called in forepart of the condemning tribunal to give grounds and call informants. Decision: The nonsubjective attack that the VSAC makes it really hard for the imperativeness to make enchantress Hunts and set force per unit area on the tribunal to enforce an unfair sentence in favour of sensed public sentiment ; instead the specific victims of the offense are taken into history. The category of individuals that can do this statement is besides really limited to halt uninformed or biased public sentiment and inflammatory media sentiment deluging the tribunal where merely a individual who has been straight affected by the offense can do the statement ; in the instance of homicides this does include the household as the direct victim has no voice. This nonsubjective attack arrests and the frights that the tribunals will go a topographic point for the media based enchantress Hunts are stopped and justness for the victim is considered at the same clip as equilibrating the justness for the suspect. This creates a alone attack to condemnable justness and perchance a manner forward for guaranting that victims do derive a voice, without the enchantress Hunts that have been seen late in the US, particularly those held in Guatanamo Bay. Besides the UK system which is on the threshold of following the US should mind the frights of those in the UK justness system against the media/witch Hunt attack and follow the attack the VSAC and subsequent legal powers in Australia have taken, which is to equilibrate the condemnable justness between the public sentiment, the victim and the defendent in an nonsubjective mode as Justice Badgery-Parker provinces: [ T ] he need which the felon justness system exists to carry through is the demand to interpose between the victim and the condemnable an nonsubjective instrumentality which, while recognizing the earnestness of the offense from the victim’s point of position and, in the instance of slaying, the magnitude of the loss which the victim’s household and friends have sustained, efforts to function a scope of community involvements which include but go beyond impressions simply of requital.[ 6 ] Therefore the most of import facet of including informed public sentiment is through instruction and making forums where people can voice their positions freely and a balanced sentiment is created. This is instead than the lopsided position of the sensationalism of the media of the positions of victim’s rights groups. In order to make this there needs to be easy entree to forums and practioners from the Criminal Justice system in order to emphasize the different logical thinking behind condemning processs. Victims rights groups in the UK. Bibliography: R G Fox, 1995,Victorian Criminal Procedure: State and FederalMonash Law Book Co-operative Freiberg, 2001,Sentencing Options,Sentencing Reappraisal 2001Discussion Paper Freiberg, 2002,Nerve pathwaies to JusticeSentencing Review 2002 Discussion Paper Graycar A ; Morgan, 2005,Law Reform – What’s in it for Women,Windsor Yearbook on Access to Justice Volume 23 Home Office, 2001,Reappraisal of the Victim’s Charter: Summary of Responsescan be found at:hypertext transfer protocol: //www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs/vcreviewvictims.html Helena Kennedy, 2004,Merely Law, Vintage Books John Rawls,The Theory of Justice( Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1971 ) Rawls J. ,Justice as Fairness: a restatement, ( E. Kelly Ed ) ( 2001, Cambridge Mass, Harvard University imperativeness ) Ridge, M. 2003Giving the dead their due Ethical motives 114: 38-59. Sentencing Advisory Council,About Sentencing – Principles and Purposes, can be found at:hypertext transfer protocol: //www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/CA256F82000D281D/page/About+Sentencing? OpenDocument A ; 1=20-About+Sentencing~ A ; 2=~ A ; 3=~

Pursuit of freedom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pursuit of freedom - Essay Example It was only after her husband’s death that Mrs. Mallard feels the true sense of freedom. The emotion that is clearly identifiable in the story is the emotion of happiness, relieve and contentment. We in our daily lives feel contented and happy when some work gets completed or we get rid of some difficult situation. I felt contented and relieved when I got rid of my loan as it was always depressing me. Mrs. Mallard gets contented and relieved when she realizes that she is after all free and on her own to do anything she likes. I also felt the same when I realized that I do not have to pay any further to the bank. I felt as if I was free to use my money the way I like and with full liberty. I felt as if some responsibility or restriction has left my way. Mrs. Mallard considered her husband as a hindrance in her way towards freedom and after his death; she enjoyed her freedom as she said, â€Å"Free! Body and soul free!† (Chopin 1894). She regarded her body as well as her soul, both fully at liberty without any repression from her husband anymore. I can be related to the character of Mrs. Mallard in a sense as she also considers herself free and I felt the same situation.

Convincing that the same sex adoption morally wrong Essay

Convincing that the same sex adoption morally wrong - Essay Example I shall present both sides of the issue using information from various credible sources, including my opinion on the matter as well towards the end of this paper. In order to understand the morally and socially acceptable reasons against same sex adoptions, I wish to first present the arguments that are normally presented by same sex couples in support of their cause. These are arguments that, although seemingly acceptable, places the child in question in the center of a psychologically traumatic experience that could carry life long consequences for the child if not dealt with in a proper manner. The first argument that is often presented in support of same sex adoption is that the traditional family unit as we know it is based upon a shaky foundation that often times end up in divorce and a traumatic existence for the child. It is their belief that there is no difference in raising a child in the same sex household because they can provide a more stable household for the child base d upon a mutual love and respect for the family unit that seems to now be sorely lacking among the traditional couples (â€Å"Pros and Cons of Gay Adoption†). Same sex couples claim that the high rate of divorce among the heterosexual couples makes them a bad example for the children who are traumatized by what could often times turn out to be messy divorces that put the child in the middle of an ugly custody battle. Their second argument is that advances in medical science have allowed them to conceive children artificially. Therefore, it is their right to have children born of their own flesh and blood, even if they were the result of a surrogate mother or the sperm of a man unknown to the child's mothers. What is important is that the child is a living part of their own DNA strain. Therefore, not allowing them to adopt a child who badly needs the love and care of strangers willing to give him or her a better life would be robbing the child of the right to live with all the good chances that the â€Å"modern family† can afford him (â€Å"Pros and Cons of Gay Adoption†). After all, there is one thing of the utmost importance in any adoption proceeding and that is what will be in the best interests of the child. They believe, that they can best represent that interest as the normal families seem to have a hard time providing such for their children and adopted children. In accordance with this belief, the International Adoption Database has even mentioned that the sexual orientation of a parent should not be considered when setting up a child for adoption. The organization believes that; â€Å"Good parenting is not influenced by sexual orientation. Rather, it is influenced most profoundly by a parent's ability to create a loving and nurturing home -- an ability that does not depend on whether a parent is gay or straight.† (Marquardt, Maddie â€Å"Who Sets Standards of a Suitable Parent?†). They also argue that preventing them from adopting children can be taken as an act of sexual discrimination, an act which is prohibited under the laws of the United States. They also make important note of the fact that there is a shortage of qualified adoptive heterosexual parents these days.

Evaluate the transition from oil based world economy to an economy Essay

Evaluate the transition from oil based world economy to an economy driven by alternative energy sources - Essay Example Further, there have been adverse effects on the environment from using oil. In the last fifty years, industrialization across the world has led to increases in carbon emission, depletion of the ozone layer, melting of ice caps and a general decrease in the quality of life. Besides this, oil is a non-renewable resource. This means that its quantities on earth are limited and will at some point be depleted. This makes the use of oil as a source of energy unsustainable and unreliable. Herald (12) uses the phrase ‘Peak Oil’ to describe the time when the world will reach its peak oil production. This will subsequently lead to decline in oil production and the rise in oil prices, causing a significant, yet unpredictable impact. At the moment, some of these consequences are already being experienced in the world. The amount of oil being produced surpasses the amount of new oil supplies being discovered. This indicates that the peak oil stage is fast approaching. With these fact s in mind, there is a greater need to shift the world economy to one that is dependent on renewable energy sources that can be replenished and which do not harm the environment. The following is an evaluation of the significance of this transition and its link to the economic and political processes of the world and the effects of this new venture on the world climate. To avert the effects of oil shortage on the world economy, there have been collaborative efforts to focus on alternative energy sources. These are other sources of energy besides fossil fuels. According to Michaelides (20), what constitutes to an alternative energy source is still being debated. However, the idea behind the term refers to any energy source that is environmentally friendly and not necessarily renewable. Some of these sources include wind, solar, ethanol, hydroelectric power, geothermal power and nuclear energy. These sources have enormous potential and they are able to meet the world energy demands man y times over. Their uptake despite being on the increase over the years has not yet surpassed that of traditional energy sources. Combined, these sources contribute up to only 20 percent of the world energy demand currently. Wind has been one of the best alternative sources which have become a competitive energy source in the world. It is preferred because is clean energy source and produces no pollution in generating power. Its rebirth was particularly focused on after the 1970 oil crisis. This saw a lot of research being conducted to harness wind and to improve wind turbines. Much more needs to be done to promote the use of wind energy such as the reduction of the cost of equipment, better policies to address the competitive land use and availability of distribution and transmission channels. Energy generation from wind is facing a challenge because it relies on high wind speeds, a factor which is not easily attained in densely populated regions. To tackle this hurdle, countries s uch as the Netherlands are opting to set up wind stations in areas which are far from the population although this requires for increase in distribution costs. Some of the countries that have fronted wind energy and encouraged its use include Spain, USA, Denmark and Germany. Wind energy is fast growing as a replacement for oil and these governments are giving incentives to encourage this

Code of Ethical Conduct in the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 25

Code of Ethical Conduct in the Workplace - Essay Example Another negative harm could be Dennis’s mother getting a hold of the spread of information which she gave out in confidentiality and end up withdrawing her son from school and even a possible transfer. There is no way the outcome of this situation can be anticipated, though the negative outcome seems to overpower the positive. Thus, Natasha has to weigh the situation well so as to ensure whatever decision she makes neither Dennis’ nor the teacher's reputation gets ruined. Â  Natasha is a teacher to Dennis thus she has an obligation to protect Dennis’s rights as his student but also a friend to Gal she has to maintain a workable professional courtesy. Most situations do not allow time for one to go back to the NAEYC codebook to refer as they require the prompt response for damage control. Natasha deals with such a situation. The problem is a workplace problem which involves ethics. It is an ethical dilemma as Natasha’s decision falls between whether to protect Dennis or to protect Gail. The NAEYC code 1-2.2 on an ethical responsibility to families dictates that we should develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve. This thus forces Natasha to ensure that Dennis’s mother does not regret trusting her son’s teachers with confidential information so as to maintain the trust. Â  The ethics code under code P-2.12 protect Dennis’s rights: This forces Natasha to have knowledge of the code at heart to ensure that whatever decision she makes does not ruin her reputation as a teacher to the parents and students. Â  

International Adoptions Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Adoptions - Research Paper Example Interracial adoptions have helped to adopt minority children, but have raised issues for adopted children to cope with being different and for adoptive parents to help them form healthy identities. The likelihood of being in foster care is more in the Black children as compared to the white children. Black children usually stay longer in the foster care and frequently experience multiple placements. Since long-term stay in the foster care brings along with it numerous developmental risks, certain strategies have been practiced in the past to reduce children’s stay in the foster care. Transracial adoption is one of these strategies but has acquired a lot of controversy because of its perceived effects on children’s healthy adjustment and psychological development in the long run. This is the main reason why transracial adoptions constituted only 1 per cent of all cases of adoptions in the year 1987 (McManus). Percentage of transracial adoption cases in the subsequent yea rs is also comparable. One of the earliest studies carried out on the subject of African-American children’s transracial adoption was by (Grow and Shapiro). In this research, a total of 125 cases of transracial adoptions were investigated. In these cases, the children had been, at least for three years, in their adopted homes. The research led to the conclusion that 77 per cent of the adoption cases were successful while the rest were unsuccessful. Cases in which the family and the child were found to be having problems were classified as unsuccessful. In 16 cases, racial identity was found to contribute to the problems of adjustment of the child in the family. In nine cases, the child was found to be experiencing conflicts regarding the racial identity and the parents were also found to be experiencing difficulty coping with the differences of racial identity. In five cases, the researchers found a strong tendency in the parents to deny the racial background of the child eit her through passive ignorance toward it or through minimization of its importance (Grow and Shapiro 102). This is even more dangerous for the children because the African-American child â€Å"must be prepared for being perceived often as a minority member first, an individual second and for being judged on the basis of prejudice and stereotype† (Crumbley). In the research by (Grow and Shapiro), most of the data was retrieved from the parents and teachers through interviews and questionnaires. Had significant part of the data been retrieved from the children, the researchers would probably have found even more unsuccessful cases and attributed them to conflicts of racial differences between children and parents. The dramatic decrease in the transracial adoption of the African-American children was observed over the last four decades because of its strong opposition by the National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW) since the year 1972. Their concern was that interraci al adoptions makes the adopted children ill-equipped to deal with the racist society’s realities wherein they grow up. In 1985, the then NABSW president talked about the severe problems of identity in the African-American children that have been raised by white families. He said that these children have neither been completely accepted by their parents, nor have they been allowed to maintain the required contact with the people of their race because of which,

Code of Ethical Conduct in the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 25

Code of Ethical Conduct in the Workplace - Essay Example Another negative harm could be Dennis’s mother getting a hold of the spread of information which she gave out in confidentiality and end up withdrawing her son from school and even a possible transfer. There is no way the outcome of this situation can be anticipated, though the negative outcome seems to overpower the positive. Thus, Natasha has to weigh the situation well so as to ensure whatever decision she makes neither Dennis’ nor the teacher's reputation gets ruined. Â  Natasha is a teacher to Dennis thus she has an obligation to protect Dennis’s rights as his student but also a friend to Gal she has to maintain a workable professional courtesy. Most situations do not allow time for one to go back to the NAEYC codebook to refer as they require the prompt response for damage control. Natasha deals with such a situation. The problem is a workplace problem which involves ethics. It is an ethical dilemma as Natasha’s decision falls between whether to protect Dennis or to protect Gail. The NAEYC code 1-2.2 on an ethical responsibility to families dictates that we should develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve. This thus forces Natasha to ensure that Dennis’s mother does not regret trusting her son’s teachers with confidential information so as to maintain the trust. Â  The ethics code under code P-2.12 protect Dennis’s rights: This forces Natasha to have knowledge of the code at heart to ensure that whatever decision she makes does not ruin her reputation as a teacher to the parents and students. Â