A recent study shows Restorative Justice (RJ) is a more effective way of dealing with crime than penal punishments, even to the people harmed.
“To me it is common sense,” said attorney Sia Henry, referring to RJ. “The State stole conflict from victims, even if the victim doesn’t want the person to go to prison. That’s ridiculous; that is the point of a justice system – to get justice for victims.”
More than 89 percent of the people harmed, who participated in RJ and completed an evaluation, indicated they would recommend the process to a friend, says a 2016 Impact Justice study. The people harmed also said they found it meaningful to have contact with the responsible party, gain closure and see them demonstrate remorse.
Henry, who worked with Impact Justice for two years, has seen the people satisfied with RJ.
“A kid arrested for vandalizing someone’s car caused $4,000 in damage,” said Henry. “The person harmed wanted their ‘four gees’ back. In conference, she heard his story and that he is a budding artist and changed her mind. Instead, she wanted him to paint a life-sized portrait of Tinkerbell.”
The statistics show RJ is more efficient than penology punishments. Out of 115 youngsters who completed the Restorative Community Conferencing (RCC) program, 29.6 percent were rearrested compared to 48.8 percent of a matched sample of youth processed through the juvenile justice system, according to the 2016 report written by Impact Justice’s Restorative Justice Project. Only 11.8 percent of the youth were subsequently adjudicated delinquent compared to 31.4 percent of a matched sample.
The total cost of a using RCC is $4,500 while putting a youth on probation cost $23,000, says the report.
Community Works West’s Restorative Community Conferencing program in Alameda County gathered the data starting from 2012.
Modeled after the New Zealand Family Group Conferencing approach that rendered youth incarceration nearly obsolete there, Community Works accepts serious crimes like robbery, burglary, vehicle thefts, batteries and even small number of assaults with a deadly weapon and sexual batteries.
Instead of prosecuting, the police, school, probation officer or district attorney refers the youth to RCC. The referring agency holds off on charges until the outcome of RCC.
An RCC coordinator contacts the accused youth and parents to encourage participation. If the youth accepts responsibility and agrees to participate, the coordinator reaches out to the person harmed.
Separate meetings held with each party determine amenability, safety and give the youth and harmed person a chance to independently assess damage, needs and obligations.
Ideally, there is a confidentiality agreement with the district attorney stating all communications between the parties cannot be used in court.
“Most of the time there are no police or prosecutors in the conference,” said Henry. “Generally speaking, there aren’t issues in court.”
Next, a conference held between both parties at a neutral location allows the young person, harmed person, family members and the community to discuss the cause and effect of the crime. Self-reflection, supportive accountability and apologies culminate into a commitment to help the youth overcome obstacles, mend social ties and a plan to repair the damage. If the youth fails to complete the agreements, the case is returned to the referring agency for prosecution.
The agreements are usually completed within six months and, afterward, the charges are dropped and case closed.
RCC has been operating in Alameda for more than six years. Sujatha Baliga won a Soros Justice Fellowship award in 2008 to gather support for the RCC process from the courts, prosecutors and police.
RCC’s application in Alameda County is the first of its kind and scope to address youth crimes in a major US urban area with an explicit goal of reducing racial and ethnic disparities in diversion and incarceration while producing quantitative data, said the Impact Justice report.
Henry, who is from the East Coast, heard Baliga speak on a panel about restorative justice. After graduating from Harvard, Henry moved to Oakland to intern for Impact Justice.
“I got interested in criminal justice policy and racial justice in college when I saw how super-rich White kids were treated compared to Black kids,” said Henry. “There is morality then there is law. I never wanted to go to a fancy law school and not make a difference.”
Restorative Justice is spreading. Community Works is launching “Make It Right,” in San Francisco.
Additionally, more than 35 states have adopted legislation encouraging the use of Restorative Justice, after years of relying on local nonprofits performing without the state’s blessing, according to Rebecca Beitsch in a 2016 PEW Stateline report, called “Victims and Offenders Make Their Own Justice.”