Although punitive approaches to criminal justice are still dominant today, the public acceptance of restorative justice programs is gradually increasing in the United States. Current restorative justice programs have made significant changes in communities all over the country, such as the Longmont Community Justice Partnership in Colorado. The main goal of this organization is to guide victims and offenders into strengthening their relationships while repairing the harm done by the crime. This restorative program has demonstrated to law enforcement administrators and the community in general how effective an approach to justice without punishment can be.
The Longmont Community Justice Partnership is a nonprofit organization that uses restorative …show more content…
The Community Restorative Justice Program is recognized nationally because of the work they do with adult offenders. It provides group conferences that are led by trained volunteer facilitators and includes the presence of trained volunteer representatives from the community and law enforcement officers. In fact, annual LCJP reports show an increase of police involvement, the highest being in 2014 with the presence of the police in 91% of the conferences (“Community Restorative Justice,” n.d.). On the other hand, Restorative Practices in School is a program for juvenile offenders in charge of addressing criminal matters and providing conflict resolution in the St. Vrain Valley School District. It started in 2008 as an intervention resource at Longmont High School and Longs Peak and Westview middle schools, but in 2010 it expanded to include cases in elementary schools and other institutions across the district (“Restorative Practices in Schools,” …show more content…
In the case of group conferences organized by the Community Restorative Justice program, adults are acknowledged as people with strengths rather than criminals. As mentioned in the year-end report for 2014, the program “enables adults to recover from shame and embarrassment, grow from new perspectives, and from there reintegrate with better self-esteem, reducing the likelihood of re-offense (“Reports,” n.d.). The victims are not affected by the systemic domination of the criminal courts, but are given the opportunity to have a respectful conversation with the offenders about the incident and its impact. The situation is similar for juvenile offenders, for they voluntarily get together in peace-making circles with the offender and members of the community to talk about a responsible way to repair the harm that was done. They address large issues such as bullying, peer assault, and the illegal position of drugs and weapons. Most of the agreements usually consist on meaningful service to the community (Bryen, 2013; "Reports,"
The Longmont Community Justice Partnership is a nonprofit organization that uses restorative …show more content…
The Community Restorative Justice Program is recognized nationally because of the work they do with adult offenders. It provides group conferences that are led by trained volunteer facilitators and includes the presence of trained volunteer representatives from the community and law enforcement officers. In fact, annual LCJP reports show an increase of police involvement, the highest being in 2014 with the presence of the police in 91% of the conferences (“Community Restorative Justice,” n.d.). On the other hand, Restorative Practices in School is a program for juvenile offenders in charge of addressing criminal matters and providing conflict resolution in the St. Vrain Valley School District. It started in 2008 as an intervention resource at Longmont High School and Longs Peak and Westview middle schools, but in 2010 it expanded to include cases in elementary schools and other institutions across the district (“Restorative Practices in Schools,” …show more content…
In the case of group conferences organized by the Community Restorative Justice program, adults are acknowledged as people with strengths rather than criminals. As mentioned in the year-end report for 2014, the program “enables adults to recover from shame and embarrassment, grow from new perspectives, and from there reintegrate with better self-esteem, reducing the likelihood of re-offense (“Reports,” n.d.). The victims are not affected by the systemic domination of the criminal courts, but are given the opportunity to have a respectful conversation with the offenders about the incident and its impact. The situation is similar for juvenile offenders, for they voluntarily get together in peace-making circles with the offender and members of the community to talk about a responsible way to repair the harm that was done. They address large issues such as bullying, peer assault, and the illegal position of drugs and weapons. Most of the agreements usually consist on meaningful service to the community (Bryen, 2013; "Reports,"