You are a correctional counselor assigned to James, a 17-year-old boy who was charged with robbery after he held up a cab driver while holding a knife to his throat. James was soon apprehended by Officer Friendly, and the cab driver's wallet was retrieved. Officer Friendly has a son the same age as James. Officer Friendly was also aware that James did not have any positive male role models in his life and that he has never been in trouble before.

James's mother, Janice, is very distraught about her son's "out of character" behavior. Janice is a single mother who works third shift and blames herself for the fact that her son has become involved in the criminal justice system. James expressed remorse and told Officer Friendly that he has been having a hard time at school with a group of boys who he is afraid of. He told Officer Friendly the group of boys dared him to rob the cab driver and told him that if he didn't, they were going to rob his mother. James admitted he made the wrong decision and should have told an adult, and accepted responsibility.

The victim, Victor, is an elderly immigrant who was deeply impacted by the robbery. Victor did not sustain any physical injuries from the incident. Victor immediately reported what happened to his supervisor who then contacted the police. Officer Grumpy initially responded to take Victor's statement. Officer Grumpy provided Victor with a form and told him to fill it out. After Officer Grumpy collected the facts of the incident, he told Victor if they catch the "kid," someone from the county attorney's office will give him a call.

Victor reported that he missed a week of work due to his fear and anxiety after the robbery. He stated that he has had a growing bias against teenagers and is reluctant to pick up any young men as fares for his job, which is costing him money. Victor has been seeing a therapist once a week and is looking for a new job.

The media picked up the story and posted Victor's photo and a headline implying he was viciously attacked by a "possible gang member." After James was arrested, the police department referred his complaint to diversion rather than involving the juvenile justice system. Through the diversion program, James is eligible to participate in the restorative justice process through the county's new Restorative Justice Program for Youthful Offenders (the program you work for). Scenario

You are a correctional counselor for a youthful offender program. You are to create a written report to your supervisor about the case you are working on and the role empathy may play in the decisions made by criminal justice professionals regarding the offender and victim. Using the case details linked in the Supporting Materials section, create a written report that focuses on an explanation of empathy, empathy and interactions, responses to the victim, empathy and the restorative justice process, and media and empathy.

Directions

Using the provided case details, create a written report to your supervisor regarding the role that empathy played in the decision-making processes across criminal justice professions specific to this case. Include the following required elements:

1. Explain what empathy is and how it can be applied in the criminal justice system . Include the following in your explanation:
   1. What is empathy?
   2. In which areas of criminal justice can empathy be applied?
   3. How can it be applied?
2. Describe how empathy influenced interactions between the victim of the robbery and criminal justice professionals . Include the following in your description:
   1. Which criminal justice professional(s) interacted with the victim?
   2. How did empathy (or lack thereof) affect the interactions between criminal justice professional(s) and the victim?
3. Analyze responses to a victim of robbery . Include the following in your analysis:
   1. What were the responses to the victim?
   2. How did the responses affect the victim?
   3. Were the responses appropriate or not? If not, how could they be changed to be appropriate?
4. Explain how empathy influenced the restorative justice process . Include the following in your explanation:
   1. Which criminal justice professional(s) displayed empathy to the offender?
   2. How did empathy affect the offender and the restorative justice process?
5. Analyze how the media influenced empathy in the criminal justice process . Include the following in your analysis:
   1. What was the role of the media in the case?
   2. Who did the media affect and how?

PLEASE USE IN-TEXT CITATIONS AND REFERENCES.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Report Role of Empathy in Criminal Justice DecisionMaking Introduction Empathy is a critical component in the criminal justice system as it allows professionals to understand and connect with the expe... View the full answer