ABSTRACT
The three contexts for understanding justice, crime, and ethics were discussed in Chapter 1. The personal context is described as one’s inner definition and idea of justice. Individuals who possess a personal sense of peacemaking have the ability to join together to create a greater social context that can encourage peacemaking practices. Looking through the lens of the social context, an individual can understand why some offenders may be more predisposed than others to make criminal choices due to the social environment within a given community and society. As a greater number of individuals believe in peacemaking in a personal context of justice, a greater number of people will also understand and practice peacemaking in the social or community context. This leads to the perception that offenders are not isolated, disconnected people who commit crimes, but rather members of the community who have made poor choices and moved away from the core social values. The collaboration of individuals who subscribe to a personal peacemaking context moves communities to create new methods and approaches such as restorative justice to intervene with offenders.
