ABSTRACT
In Chapter 1, the three contexts for understanding justice, crime, and ethics are discussed. The personal context is described as what constitutes 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. Looking through the lens of the social context, an individual may understand why some criminals may be more predisposed than other offenders to make criminal choices because of the social environment created 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 persons will also understand and practice peacemaking in the social or community context. This leads to the conception of relating to offenders not as isolated, disconnected persons who commit crimes, but rather as 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.
