Summarize the term “community justice.” Examine the relationship between community justice, problem-oriented policing and community policing.
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
The Concept of Community Justice and its Relationship with Problem-Oriented Policing and Community Policing
Community justice is a philosophy and approach within the criminal justice system that emphasizes collaboration and engagement with communities to address crime, prevent offender recidivism, and promote public safety. This essay will provide a summary of community justice and examine its relationship with problem-oriented policing and community policing.
Community Justice
Community justice is based on the belief that crime prevention and offender rehabilitation are best achieved through partnerships between criminal justice agencies, community organizations, and residents. It recognizes that traditional punitive measures alone are insufficient in addressing the root causes of crime and fostering long-term community safety.
At the heart of community justice is the notion of community empowerment and involvement. It seeks to actively engage community members in identifying local crime problems, developing solutions, and implementing strategies to address them. By promoting collaboration between law enforcement, social service agencies, schools, businesses, and residents, community justice aims to create safer and more supportive neighborhoods.
Community justice initiatives often incorporate restorative justice practices, which focus on repairing harm caused by crime through dialogue, accountability, and reconciliation. These initiatives prioritize victim-offender mediation, community service, and other forms of rehabilitation that promote healing for victims while holding offenders accountable for their actions.
Relationship with Problem-Oriented Policing
Problem-oriented policing (POP) is a policing strategy that aligns closely with the principles of community justice. It emphasizes proactive problem-solving by identifying recurring crime patterns, analyzing underlying causes, and implementing targeted interventions. POP recognizes that many crime issues stem from underlying social problems such as drug abuse, poverty, or unemployment.
Community justice and problem-oriented policing share a common goal of addressing the root causes of crime rather than just responding to individual incidents. Both approaches involve collaboration among law enforcement agencies, community members, and other stakeholders to develop tailored strategies that address specific crime problems within a community.
In practice, community justice initiatives often adopt problem-oriented policing techniques as part of their overall approach. Police officers work closely with community members to identify and analyze crime problems, develop effective responses, and evaluate the outcomes. This collaborative approach enhances trust between law enforcement and the community, leading to more effective crime prevention efforts.
Relationship with Community Policing
Community policing is another approach that aligns with the principles of community justice. It emphasizes building positive relationships between police officers and community members through increased interaction, trust-building, and problem-solving partnerships. Community policing aims to create a sense of shared responsibility for public safety.
Community justice and community policing share the belief that law enforcement agencies should work collaboratively with communities to address crime-related concerns. They both advocate for a shift from a reactive, incident-driven approach to a proactive strategy that focuses on prevention and problem-solving.
While community policing primarily focuses on improving police-community relationships through increased visibility and accessibility of officers within neighborhoods, community justice takes a broader approach by involving multiple stakeholders in addressing crime-related issues.
In conclusion, community justice promotes collaborative efforts between criminal justice agencies and communities to address crime and promote public safety. It aligns closely with problem-oriented policing and community policing approaches by emphasizing proactive problem-solving, collaboration between law enforcement and communities, and addressing root causes of crime. By adopting these holistic approaches, communities can work towards creating safer neighborhoods where all residents can thrive.
