Circles of Accountability: Preventing Burglary and Helping Our Community Heal
Imagine a process that can reduce juvenile burglary crime and help strengthen a broader sense of responsibility and community. Circles of Accountability (CofA) is a Restorative Justice process that does just that. CofA is being developed by Safe & Sound and the District Attorney’s Community Conferencing Program with the support of the Milwaukee County Delinquency Division. The Circles provide a victim-focused experience for juveniles charged with burglary and allow other community stakeholders an opportunity to relay their own voice and experiences in relation to the harms resulting from burglaries. Through this interaction, Juvenile Offenders learn about the extensive impact of burglary crimes and hopefully come away with a new understanding and are less likely to repeat the offense. Lauren Thrift, Restorative Justice Coordinator at Safe & Sound, is hopeful that Circles of Accountability will see the same high success rate as the District Attorney’s Community Conferencing Program, where Juvenile Offenders who go through the Restorative Justice program reduce their repeat offenses by 80%.
What is it that makes restorative justice processes so much different from traditional prosecution? First of all, the process is focused on victims rather tha Juvenile Offenders. Secondly, restorative practices seek to realize who has been harmed as a result of the crime and how best to repair the harm. Restorative Justice is a very personal experience as Thrift explains, “It’s all based on humanization, where people come face to face and realize, ‘Hey that person is a human being like me, has similar needs to me, and just made a different decision to meet those needs than I would have liked them to make.’ When they have a more intimate personal interaction in a safe, non-threatening way, they can see each other as people and gain respect and understanding they didn’t have before. This process benefits all involved, helping to empathize and engage all parties in a more positive interaction. Circles of Accountability strengthens the community we live in when we want to help a Juvenile Offender reintegrate into the community and, in return, the Juvenile Offender does not commit another burglary because he/she feels a sense of community and does not want to repeat the harms to another person.”
The key to reducing repeat offenses is providing opportunity for this humanization to happen and to help the Juvenile Offender realize the full extent of the harms that were caused. For example, victims of burglary may have the same emotions of violation and insecurity in their homes that a sexual assault victim has about their body. The Juvenile Offender is usually surprised and emotionally impacted to learn they caused this extent of psychological trauma.
The process is simple but not easy. A diverse group of people sit in a circle with several teenage burglary Juvenile Offenders. They are face to face with a burglary victim, concerned adults and youth peers. Together, they engage in a conversation guided by trained facilitators. The victims of burglary are real, but not involved in the cases with these Juvenile Offenders. Everyone who participates must go through training.
The impact on individuals, children, and families is real and significant and victims effectively share their experience through story telling. Victims often share feelings of being violated, invasion of privacy, and a lost sense of security. Additionally, victims change personal habits, daily patterns and have recurrent thoughts about the incident. The adult and youth community representatives are invited by the facilitators to respond to the burglary victim’s story. The adults in the Circle representing the community can include community volunteers, block club captains, police, youth workers, community organizers, teachers, etc.
All of the trained youth participants currently active are in a Safe & Sound youth leadership program called Crime Strategies Initiative at either Running Rebels Community Organization or COA Youth & Family Centers. Youth share their own perspectives as peers and their experiences with burglary. They can relate and connect to the story by remembering similar emotions from other experiences. The Juvenile Offenders listen and connect. They have the opportunity to share their own perspective, how their life has been impacted as well as respond and interact with the group. Through this interaction a stronger sense of community may begin to form. What does not get expressed during the Circle may come across is letters of reflection or apology. Each Juvenile Offender is guided by a facilitator to write a short letter expressing their feelings. The letters may be addressed to victims, but also parents, peers, or even police officers, whoever the young person feels they need to respond to at a deeper level. The power of restorative justice is in human interactions that create relationships among people and help unify a community.
Circles of Accountability is an exciting pilot project that will be implemented throughout 2012. To get involved, contact Lauren Thrift, Restorative Justice Coordinator at Safe & Sound, 414-221-6711 and sign up for the next available trainings.
