Restorative Justice
This is a community-based program utilizing the principle of CONFERENCING: “people coming together to help other people”. It falls under the auspices of the provincial Ministry of Justice and the RCMP. An RCMP officer, on arresting a first offender of any age can elect to refer the case to the Restorative Justice Program rather than to the court system.
The purpose of the program is to provide an alternative method of dealing with offenders.
The goals are to:- reduce the number of repeat offences;
- shorten the time between an offense and its consequences;
- increase proactive, community policing;
- have the community participate in a meaningful way;
- provide victims with a sense of justice having been done and have the offenders take responsibility for the harm they have done.
Restorative Justice holds a conference with all affected parties (victim, offender, supporters, police) involved. Three questions are posed: What happened; how did this affect you; and what can be done to make this better for everyone? Each person at the conference has an opportunity to speak and participate in the resolution.
This program is operated by trained volunteers, and supported partly by the Ministry of Justice as well as municipal and private donations. It is an effective program in the area of crime prevention and prevention of offenders re-offending.
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