restorative justice for juvenile justice: stakeholders, principles, outcomes presented by: gordon...
TRANSCRIPT
Restorative Justice for Juvenile Justice:
Stakeholders, Principles, Outcomes
Presented by:
Gordon Bazemore, Ph.D., Project Director, Balanced and Restorative Justice Project,
Community Justice Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
WHAT IS JUSTICE?
-Justice as Punishment/Retribution?
-Justice as Treatment?
-Justice as Accountability and Responsibility!
Crime Is More Than Lawbreaking
Crime HARMS:
Victims,
Communities,
and Offenders.
It also damages relationships.
REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL RE-ENTRY
RESISTANCE COMMUNITY TO RECEPTIVITY RECIDIVISM
DEGREE OF SUCCESS
Restorative Justice Stakeholders: Balancing Needs
Victim and family/support group
Offender and family/support group
Community
Juvenile Justice System
VICTIM NEEDS
WHAT VICTIMS REALLY WANT:
a less formal process where their views count;
more information about processing and outcome of
their case;
VICTIMS WANT:
to participate in their cases;
to be treated respectfully and fairly;
material and emotional restoration [especially an
apology];
“ Victims frequently want longer time for offenders because we
haven’t given them anything else. Or because we don’t ask, we don’t
know what they want. So [the system] gives them door Number
One or Two, when what they really want is behind Door Number 3 or
4.” ~ Mary Achilles
RJ: FOR THE PERSON HARMED
A CHOICE IN HOW THEY WANT TO PROCEED
AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK OUT ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM
AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A VOICE IN HOW TO RIGHT ANY WRONGS DONE TO THEM
A WAY TO FEEL SOME POWER OR SAFETY OR REASSURANCE
OFFENDER NEEDS:
Young offenders need:
The opportunity to take responsibility for the harm
caused by their behavior; take action to repair the harm; have a voice in the decisionmaking
process;
OFFENDERS NEED:
Opportunities and support for reintegration to their
communities;
To build a range of assets, skills and pro-social
relationships.
FOR THE PERSONDOING HARM
A CHANCE TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS
AN OPPORTUNITY TO RIGHT THEIR WRONGS
A CHANCE TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION, NOT JUST THE PROBLEM
THE POSSIBILITY TO LEARN FROM WHAT HAPPENED
AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP EMPATHY AND UNDERSTAND IMPACT OF THEIR BEHAVIOR
AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET ASSISTANCE TO ALTER OR CHANGE HARMFUL BEHAVIOR
COMMUNITY NEEDS
(Formal justice system procedures) “deprive people of opportunities to practice skills of apology and forgiveness, or reconciliation, restitution, and reparation . . . The modern state appears to have deprived civil society of opportunities to learn important political and social skills.
~ David Moore
FOR THE COMMUNITY
A MEANS TO HANDLE PROBLEMS THAT OTHERWISE AREN’T DEALT WITH—TOOLS, SKILLS, CONFIDENCE TO INTERVENE
ACKNOWLEDGES HARM DONE TO THE COMMUNITY
THE PERSON WHO COMMITTED HARM IS HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ACTIONS TAKEN
EVERYONE IS KEY TO PARTICIPATING IN THE SOLUTION
Repairing Harm
Stakeholder Involvement
Community and Government Role Transformation
Three Principles of Restorative Justice?
Justice requires that we work to heal
victims, communities, and
offenders who have been injured by
crime.
Principle 1 - REPAIR
Repairing Harm
Two Primary Objectives:
1. Making Amends: Meeting Victim Needs; Creating a New Image for Offender; Enhancing Reciprocity
2. Building Relationships: Reconnecting with Prosocial Adults and Peers
Possible Obligations Required in
an RJ Conference or Reparative
Court Order:
Core Practices: Restorative Obligations or Sanctions
Apologize to Victims and Others
Make restitution to victims
Provide restorative community service
Participate in victim awareness activities
Other
Reconnecting…Crime weakens
relationships
Restorative justice reconnects
Victim
Victim
Com
munity
OffenderOffenderCommunity
Victims, communities and offenders should have
opportunities for active involvement in the justice
process as early and as
fully as possible.
Principle 2 - Involvement
THREE RJ PRINCIPLES
Stakeholder Involvement
Three Primary Objectives:
-“Respectful Disapproval”: Condemn offender’s action while supporting the offender.
-“Healing Dialogue”: Needs-driven victim, offender, supporter discourse is more important than agreement.
Stakeholder Involvement
Three Primary Objectives, continued:
-“Common Ground”: Build on Points of Mutual Interest between V-O, V-C, O-C…collective healing
Nonadversarial Stakeholder
Decisionmaking:
Core Practices: Restorative Conferencing Models
Family Group Conferencing
Reparative or Accountability Boards
Sentencing and Peacemaking Circles
Victim Offender Dialogue (Mediation)
Community Conferencing
Merchant Accountability Boards
ELEMENTS of a RESTORATIVE CONFERENCE
VOLUNTARY HAVE TO ADMIT HARM WILLING TO PROBLEM SOLVE ANY PARTY CAN STOP AT ANY TIME CONDUCTED BY A TRAINED
FACILITATOR
RGC
Participants
Human servicesAnd/or
probation
Community Member
Victim
SchoolAdministrator/
LawEnforcement
Supporter
SupporterOffender
Facilitator
We must re-think the relative role and responsibilities of the
government and the community. Government is responsible for
preserving order. The community is responsible for establishing peace.
Principle 3 – Changing Community/ System Roles &
Relationships
Justice system operates separately from the
community
Justice system provides more information to the
community about its activities.
Justice system provides information to the community
about its activities and asks for information from the
community.
Justice system asks for guidance from the community,
recognizes a need for community help, and places
more activities in the community.
Justice system follows community leadership.
Community & The Justice System: Changing The Relationship
Community/System Role Transformation
Three Primary Objectives:
-Build “Social Capital”: Relationships and networks of trust and reciprocity—connections
-Create Sense of Collective Ownership of Problem or Conflict
-Develop Problem Solving Skills—Conflict resolution, informal social control, support; members of safe communities “don’t mind own business”
NOT “taking the punishment” or obeying the rules.
Taking responsibility for, & action to making amends to victim and
victimized community;
Victim, youth, family and community in active roles in this process.
Restorative Accountability
OUTCOMES of ACCOUNTABITY AGREEMENT: Restitution Community service Apologies Address victim and community concerns
Restorative Accountability
NOT absence of negative behavior (e.g., crime, drug use) or completion of treatment or remedial program.
But, capacity to do something well that others value..
Competency Development
COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT OUTCOMES: demonstrated improvements in; educational, vocational, social, civic, and other competencies that increase youth capacity to function as capable, productive adults.
Competency Development
NOT building more locked facilities or creating and enforcing rules.
But increase in capacity of community groups to prevent crime, resolve conflict, exercise
guardianship, reduce community fear, define tolerance limits and exercise informal social
control.
Community Safety
COMMUNITY SAFETY OUTCOMES: demonstrated improvements in:
-Recidivism reduction;-Skills of guardianship; -Collective Efficacy, Informal Social Control;-Mutual support for youth and families-Skills of conflict resolution and reparation
Community Safety Goals
Why it Works
Grounded Community Theory: Neighborhood Accountability Boards
•“We aren’t getting paid to do this.”
•“We can exercise the authority that parents have lost.”
•“We live in their community.”
•“We give them input into the contract.”
•“We are a group of adult neighbors who care about them.”
•“They hear about the harm from real human beings – us and the victims.”
•“We follow up.”
“So we make mistakes – can you say – you (the current system) don’t make mistakes? If you don’t think you do, walk through our community, every family will have something to teach you…By getting involved, by all of us taking responsibility, it is not that we won’t make mistakes…
But we would be doing it together, as a community instead of having it done for us. We need to find peace within our lives…in our communities. We need to make real differences in the way people act and the way we treat others…Only if we empower them and support them can they break out of this trap…”
~ Rose Couch, Community Justice Coordinator, Whitehorse,
Yukon