April Restorative Justice Facilitators Training Scheduled
Mar 8th, 2010
Safe & Sound has organized a Community Conferencing Facilitators Training with the District Attorney’s Office for April 15th and 16th. The training is open to any Safe Place staff and community residents. Our Next Generation, one of 27 funded Safe & Sound Safe Places, is hosting the training at their center on Lisbon Avenue.
Community conferencing is a restorative justice based program for non-violent offenders aimed at repairing the harm inflicted by crime, restoring a sense of community, and providing an alternative to incarceration. The training allows community members to facilitate actual criminal cases that involve offenders, victims, youth and community members. The cases are Deferred/Diversion Prosecution Agreements, meaning that offenders may not be charged with a crime, or may have their charges reduced if they successfully complete the requirements of the court.
For offenders, this means that there is an opportunity to talk about their actions in an honest, open and safe setting; and to hear from their victims directly. They can also keep a clean criminal record or have their charges reduced while beginning to repair the harm they have inflicted on the victims of their crime. This victim focused process is largely absent from the traditional justice system. In over 10 years of service, Community Conferencing has been effective in 85% of cases with only a small percentage returning to the criminal justice system with additional offenses.
Regular Community Conferencing trainings provide an invaluable skill and can greatly benefit youth and the surrounding community. For residents living in high crime areas it provides an opportunity to ask questions of offenders and express how they have been harmed personally or as a community. Conferencing is not shaming or lecturing, rather a sharing of personal stories and experiences and an opportunity to really listen to victims and offenders while maintaining accountability.
The training is a great learning opportunity and enables individuals to really make a difference in the lives of young offenders. Download the the training flyer for more information and to enroll.
DOWNLOAD: Training Flyer and Registration Information
