The Center for Restorative Justice is a ten year old private, non-profit, volunteer organization. All of the Restorative Justice Mediators are fully trained volunteers from the community. The Center’s primary purpose is to arrange and conduct cooperative mediation between victims of crime and the offenders. Mediators also facilitate peacemaking through community and group mediation in order to prevent an escalation of hostilities among neighbors and between groups of neighbors. Trained volunteers work to help people heal relationships damaged by crime or harmful actions. Restorative justice allows people to speak directly with each other in a safe and respectful environment, to discuss the impact of a crime or dispute on their lives, to better understand events leading to or resulting from harmful acts, and to work out mutually agreeable resolutions.
In contrast to passive roles of the citizen/victim in the court system, restorative justice involves cooperation of offender, victim, families, community, and the court. Thus, restorative justice shifts the way we think about and respond to crime by emphasizing a fundamental fact: crime damages people, communities, and relationships. An offender becomes responsible to the victim and real members of the community--not just an impersonal bureaucracy. Victims and offenders work together to hold the offender accountable, develop constructive competencies and habits, and make efforts to improve the community and its safety.
In one case involving Center for Restorative Justice mediators, a group of upper elementary youth had edged each other into entering unlocked neighborhood homes when families were away. The exploits escalated from simple dares to petty theft and then to vandalism.
Restorative justice mediators met separately with families and youth involved in preparation for group mediation. Then, at the mediation session with the youths, victims, and their families, the victims explained to the young people the harm they were doing to specific individuals and to trust and safety in the neighborhood, the offenders apologized and asked for forgiveness. A reparative agreement was cooperatively developed to the satisfaction of all. Rather than a court appearance and bureaucratic punishment, these youths agreed on meaningful community service and restitution to the people and community harmed. Their mistakes became an opportunity for a character building experience through the voluntary cooperation of all involved.
In another case, the mother of a youth killed in a car accident wanted to meet the driver who had been convicted for manslaughter. The mediators met with the mother and explored her needs and expectations, and developed a plan for the mediation session. Mediators then met the young man and his minister at the prison and prepared him for the session. The resulting mediation was described by one of the mediators as "the single most profound experience of my career."
The Unified Judicial Court, law enforcement agencies, and other criminal justice professionals have given the Center for Restorative Justice strong support. Most cases are referred to the Center from one of these entities.
Last year a review showed that forty-five cases had been followed to a resolution between the victim(s) and offender(s). In another ninety-seven cases the offender and/or the victim had the opportunity to discuss their situations and to consider what a face to face meeting might mean to and for them. For some, the feeling that they were fully listened to was enough to offer some healing. In other cases, one or more of the participants felt unready to mediate. Some of these cases will come forward again as people’s feelings change.
Currently the Center for Restorative Justice is continuing with victim offender mediation, in-service training to maintain and upgrade the mediators skills, and about once a year there is training for new mediators. The Center is also implementing a pilot project with neighborhood reparative boards. The reparative board is made up of leaders from Neighborhood Watch groups and works with low level offenses in their neighborhoods. The board will meet twice a month or as needed to consider how to repair the harm to their community and its members.
The Center is also implementing another model of restorative justice called "restorative group conferencing" in which a trained facilitator prepares the families and others who are party to a criminal offense or conflict for a restorative group conference. In the restorative conference itself, the facilitator brainstorms with the assembled groups to spell out values and rules they want to honor in creating a respectful dialogue during the session. These rules are then placed where everyone can easily be reminded of them. Orderly turn taking is accomplished by using a talking stick or other symbolic item to show who has the floor. Anyone can pass a turn but everyone has an opportunity to speak each time the stick comes around the circle to them.
The Center for Restorative Justice has a Speakers Bureau and is prepared to give presentations of varying length to community groups and organizations. The Center also provides training in restorative justice practices and the training sessions can range from half a day to two weeks in length. Call or fax (605) 605 348-3665 to request information and make arrangements or email us at: cfrj@rushmore.com.
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