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Concreteconcrete criminalCriminal Justicejustice Answering the question, “What is truly just?” is difficult: everyone has a story, and every story has at least two sides. This month, we explore justice in the criminal justice system. What is a fair punishment for crime? What measures are most beneficial for the community? What becomes an avenue for vengeance? What breeds bitterness? What brings healing and restores relationships? What works? We approach criminal justice with an attitude of restoration. If any bias shows in our writing, it is because we believe that purely punitive measures do not do enough.	There are currently 2,183 maquiladoras and 1,110,000 maquiladora workers in México. Mexicans say that working for these companies usually involves verbal, physical and mental abuse, discrimination, exploitation, and constant pollution of the environment through the irresponsible dumping of company trash. read article	NEWS This Web site is best viewed in Microsoft Internet Explorer. Check out an article on Concrete's editor in the North County Times! Are you looking to volunteer for a worthy cause? Our NEIGHBORHOOD section lists volunteer opportunities by region. Art lovers will find visual and verbal art in THE ALLEY. Who's behind Concrete Magazine? Meet our staff.
in this issue... august 2005
Restorative Justice offers healing to victims, offenders, and the community at large To think about justice in a restorative sense – that is, “justice that heals” – is to view the universal “problem” of crime and offenses in a new light: as something that both needs healing and is able to be healed. read article Fast facts on Restorative Justice Just what is restorative justice? Find out here in 60 seconds. read article California's Three Strikes Law and what it misses The three strikes law is an important piece of California's approach to preventing violent crimes. While it is effective at putting away the worst repeat offenders, it also snatches up numerous non-violent offenders, whose biggest problem is drug addiction. read article Recommended reading on criminal justice Concrete Magazine has compiled an assortment of books tackling some of these issues in greater depth. read article	Prisons, perceptions, and the humanity of art Although I have long contemplated the role of art in affecting people’s perceptions of figurative imprisonment or emancipation, I didn’t give much thought to literal prisons until I spent a year doing program management the Tariq Khamisa Foundation. The Foundation’s mission, to stop kids from killing kids, emerges from a commitment to compassion and restoration, rather than the more politically correct model of revenge and punishment. Both models aspire to create justice, but work from radically different definitions of what constitutes justice. read article The crisis of California's prisons and how they are planning to change On June 15, the state of California opened Kern Valley State Prison – a new prison designed to house over 5,000 inmates in an attempt to alleviate California’s currently overcrowded prisons. As of June 2005, California prisons housed 163,076 prisoners – around 195% the maximum capacity for the state system. And while Kern Valley was intended to help reduce some of this overcrowding, it is mathematically clear that there is no way it alone will solve California’s overcrowded prisons. read article
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