Criminal Justice vs. Community Justice Crime is defined as an act or omission that the law makes punishable. There are several ways to deal with crime. One, our current system, is the criminal justice approach. Also known as retributive justice, this system is more aimed at offenders than anything else. The other system, which many people believe is better, is the community justice, or restorative approach. The restorative approach is much more victim-oriented. There is a debate about which system should be used to tackle crime. The two differ in many ways. One of the areas in which they differ is the question of whose crime is a violation? The criminal justice system believes that crimes constitute a violation against the state and are punishable by the state. On the other hand, the community justice system states that crimes are a violation of the offender and the community directly affected by it. The focus of criminal justice is punishment. It focuses on the offender and punishes that person for his crime with imprisonment and other punishments. The community justice system is focused on restoration. Community justice seeks to help the victim deal with the violation and try to recover any assets lost in the crime. The process in which a resolution is made is completely different between the two. In a criminal justice proceeding, the case is tried by a prosecutor, before a judge, and decided by a jury. Other than testimony and possibly a victim impact statement, the victim doesn't have much say in the case. But in a community justice proceeding it is exactly the opposite. All parties involved (which include the offender, the victim, both families, any other p...... middle of paper ...... community. Church support groups help the offenders who are trying to change their lifestyle patterns. One of the main advantages of these programs is that offenders leave the correctional system with greater skills than when they entered it because, being more victim-oriented, the victims have the opportunity to define the obligations that the offender has to repair the damage with the numerous programs for victims, including mediation and government support for victims, do not make him feel excluded from what happens after the. crime. An argument could last forever about which system is better and why. A better way to approach crime is to see it not as this system versus that, but how we can bring the two together for a better system combining them together would be a good start on the question of how to deal with crime.