Restoring the Balance

Written by Hannah McGechie & Benoît Allain-Melanson on 16/03/09

Few of us can begin to imagine how we would handle the sudden loss of a loved one to crime. We know we would probably experience emotions all over the map – anger, sadness, guilt, fear, despair, loneliness, hopelessness – but it’s harder to picture how we would actually deal with them and emerge from the tragedy. Communicating with the person responsible for our loved one’s death, talking about what happened, and trying to heal alongside him or her is probably the last method we would think of, but that’s exactly what Victor did when his father was killed by an impaired driver. Both Victor and Adam (the impaired driver) became involved with the Collaborative Justice Program and were able to talk to each other: Adam explained what had been going on in his life leading up to the accident and expressed how sorry and remorseful he was while Victor told him about the devastating impact this had on him and his family. Both men listened to each other and ended up giving a presentation together about the harm impaired driving can cause to a group of youth. None of this brought Victor’s father back or eliminated the pain either man felt, but Victor pointed out that it allowed them both to heal and “salvage something positive from the whole tragedy.”

Photo by G Travels' on Flickr

Stories like Victor and Adam’s are not unusual at the Collaborative Justice Program, a restorative justice program based out of Ottawa’s provincial courthouse. Restorative justice is an approach which believes the best way to see justice done is to repair the harm caused by a crime. In our criminal justice system, victims are largely ignored. In court, they are called upon as witnesses to a crime, rather than as a victim of it. They are allowed to submit a victim impact statement (written statement submitted to the court that talks about how the crime affected them) but cannot ask questions or request an apology. Further, their statements are not guaranteed to contribute to the outcome of the justice process. However, offenders are offered the chance to make a statement where they can voice remorse, which can be taken into consideration when the judge determines their punishment. Our current criminal justice system tends to assign punishments to fit the crime, rather than ways to repair the harm done (Restorative Justice Online).

Restorative justice is an alternative approach which focuses on healing above all else. Dr. Cormier (who is in charge of Public Safety Canada’s National Crime Prevention Centre) explained that restorative justice does this by “holding the offender responsible for his or her actions, providing an opportunity for the parties directly affected by the crime – victim(s), offender and community – to identify and address their needs in the aftermath of a crime, and seek a resolution that affords healing, reparation and reintegration, and prevents future harm.” This approach can take many different forms. Sometimes the involved parties will ask questions and share information indirectly through a restorative justice practitioner and never meet in person. Other times an in-person meeting happens, often taking the form of a healing circle. Once everyone has been given the chance to share information and understand each others’ lives, the focus turns to how the harm caused by the crime can be repaired and healing can begin. Each method for repairing harm differs based on the situation and the unique needs of everyone involved; some of the more common things include the offender making an apology, paying for any costs (a broken window or an ambulance ride, for example), and/or addressing the root causes behind the crime (substance abuse treatment or anger management programs, for example). More creative solutions also arise, such as Victor and Adam’s presentation on impaired driving.

One of the biggest criticisms of restorative justice is that it is seen as “soft on crime”. Because its focus is on healing and not punishment, there is a fear that it is not going to seem intimidating enough to prevent people from committing crime and that the consequences will not be harsh enough to deter offenders from committing more crime. This criticism is based on the belief that the threat of prison is strong enough to prevent people from committing crime and reoffending. For many people, this threat is enough, but if prisons really are that big of a deterrent, why are they becoming more and more overcrowded every day? I would argue that having to face those you have harmed, hear exactly how your actions hurt them, and try to repair all this damage is a far stronger deterrent. Restorative justice processes can be far more meaningful and healing than traditional criminal justice processes for the victim as well because all parties are actively involved and communicating. The offender takes responsibility for what happened and voices remorse directly to the victim, allowing the victim to judge sincerity. The victim is also able to regain a bit of control over his or her life by having a say in what the offender can do to make amends.

Restorative justice is happening all over the country (and in many other parts of the world as well). Ottawa’s Collaborative Justice Program works within the court system and takes both adult and youth cases where the accused person takes responsibility for their actions and wants to make amends with the victim(s) (who also must be willing to participate). In Edmonton, Youth Justice Committees have been set up to resolve youth criminal cases through the use community-based justice measures. Each committee is made up of a group of volunteers who hold young offenders responsible for their acts while supporting them and trying to figure out a way to right the imbalance that has resulted from the crime. They do this through addressing the needs of the victims and figuring out what the offenders need to repair the harm and make sure this never happens again (examples include community service and counselling). The RCMP also facilitates their own version of restorative justice through Community Justice Forums. Victims, offenders and their support people (such as family members, friends or counsellors) are brought together with a trained facilitator to discuss the crime and try to find a way to fix things.

Restorative justice is not for everyone: both offenders and victims must be ready and willing to listen to each other. This means that the offender must be truly ready to take responsibility for what they did and the victim must be in a place in their lives where they can face the person who harmed them. For many parties, emotions are too strong and raw directly after the crime has been committed for participation in a restorative justice process to be healthy. While facing those you have harmed and who have harmed you is incredibly hard, the healing is often worth it. Addressing our pain and grief will help us begin to move past it; “being given the opportunity to create something beneficial helped me immeasurably in coming to terms with the fact and nature of my father’s death,” Victor says. Restorative justice can lead to true healing and the transformation of a life overshadowed by pain and questions to a happy, full one.

Links

Collaborative Justice Program
Correctional Service Canada: Restorative Justice
Department of Justice Factsheet on Restorative Justice
The Little Book of Restorative Justice by Howard Zehr
RCMP Restorative Justice
Restorative Justice Online
YOUCAN Restorative Schools