For this mini assignment, a few questions are posted below and you will only select one question to answer. The short reflection should be 1000 words. You do not need to reference sources (no citations needed), seeing as though this is a long answer question, not a formal essay. It must be organized into coherent paragraphs and formulated into a thoughtful and reflective response. Do not use point form or bulleted points when answering the question. This is supposed to be a formally written answer, which includes proper full sentences and paragraphs, with attention paid to correct grammar. For this reflection, to obtain the best mark possible, you ‘must’ include material from the textbook as well as supporting course material.
Question 1: Write a reflection on what you think “justice” means, specifically in the context of youth criminal offenders. In your reflection, consider your personal experiences that have influenced how you understand “justice,” as well as what other sources of information or knowledge have shaped what you believe is just.
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Question 2: According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, “the assault on Aboriginal identity began the moment the child took the first step across the school’s threshold” (Oudshoorn, p.36). Discuss this statement in the context of Indigenous children and adolescents’ residential school experience and examine, after over 100 years of trauma that had been inflicted on many generations of Indigenous young people and the overall devastating impact these schools had on Indigenous families and communities, how it can be understood why there is an overrepresentation of Indigenous youth in conflict with the law.
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Question 3: Discuss the relationship between addiction and trauma. Chapter 5 of your textbook provides several metaphors for how addiction affects individuals. Discuss them and how they relate to the emotional and physiological effects of trauma.
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Question 4: Chapter 8 lists eight different critiques of restorative justice. After reading these, write a reflection which argues either for or against the use of restorative justice in youth crime cases.
