Restorative justice looks at crime differently than the court process does. Restorative justice seeks to find ways for those affected by the crime to communicate and figure out what needs to happen to repair the harm, with the help of restorative justice facilitators.

Step One

After discussing the incident with both the harmed party and the responsible party, the police officer refers the case (if appropriate) to Restorative Justice. In the case of a minor, this will also be discussed with the youth or child’s parents.

Step Two

The person responsible and parents/guardians (if responsible party is a minor) will be contacted by ARJAA to determine if they are interested in proceeding with Restorative Justice.

Step Three

The harmed party will be contacted by ARJAA to determine if they are interested in proceeding with Restorative Justice.

Step Four

If both parties are willing, an initial private meeting will be set up with each of the parties to meet with the ARJAA team. This allows each party to discuss privately what happened, what the impacts have been, concerns are discussed, and each party is able to express what is needed to make things right. These meetings are confidential.

Step Five

After at least one initial meeting with each party, the ARJAA team determines whether the case is appropriate for mediation, or whether other approaches would be more effective.

Step Six

If the parties are ready for a face-to-face meeting, a mediated session called a conference is arranged. These are usually held at the APD Community Policing Office on Marshall Road at Abbotsford Way.

Step Seven

The conference takes place, involving all affected parties, and may also include people close to them who are needed for emotional support. A typical conference can take 2.5 hours. The conference is a confidential process. After a full discussion of the incident, and the concerns and issues that surround the incident, the goal is to draft an agreement that repairs the harm. This is very specific, and must show how restitution and amends will be made. It is developed and agreed up by the group, and signed by all parties. The mediators do not determine the agreement—they guide the process in which the participants will come up with the resolution that is needed.

Step Eight

The signed agreement is forwarded to the police and a copy is retained in the ARJAA file.

Step Nine

The person responsible for the incident fulfills the agreement, according to the time lines spelled out in the contract. This is supervised by ARJAA staff.

Step Ten

When the agreement is fulfilled the matter is completely concluded. A closing report is sent to the police, and there is no criminal record. The person responsible receives a closing letter.

EXCEPTIONS

Files are returned to police for further action if:

> The person responsible decides to withdraw from the process

> The person responsible fails to fulfill the agreement

> For some other reason the process cannot go forward

What happened?

How do you feel about what happened?

How were you impacted?

What has happened since the incident?

What has been the hardest thing?

What do you want the other people at the meeting to know about you and how you have been impacted?

Who else do you think has been affected by what happened? How do you think they have been affected?

What needs to happen for you to be able to begin to move forward from this and have resolution?

Do you have any questions for the other people who will be at the meeting?

What are your hopes moving forward?

Benefits for the harmed party

• Having a voice in more meaningful accountability for the person responsible

• Having a chance to be heard and understood

• Being able to express the impact of the crime, and the losses and harms sustained

• To ask questions and to receive information that can assist in closure and healing

Benefits for the responsible party

• The difficult, but important act of taking direct, personal responsibility for the offence

• The opportunity to experience, express and demonstrate genuine remorse

• The opportunity to make amends and provide restitution in a timely way

• The opportunity to learn from their experience

• The opportunity to put the offence behind them and move on with their lives through making meaningful amends.

This program is a voluntary program. If you decide that this process is not for you, ARJAA will forward the file back to the referring agency (APD or RCMP) and they decide how they want to move forward in dealing with it.

There are many reasons why an officer may wish to refer a case to a Restorative Justice program. Some of the benefits for the overall justice system include:

Meets the needs of crime victims and increases their sense of justice and satisfaction with the criminal justice system

Increases the public’s experience of justice and increases public satisfaction with the criminal justice system

Can decrease the time generally required to process offences in the traditional adversarial manner

Greatly decreases the expense of processing offences in the traditional manner by leveraging services from trained volunteers

Reduces incarceration costs by substituting creative alternatives for people who are not dangerous and can usefully contribute to the community and the victim

Reduces court dockets, caseloads, Crown counsel, defense counsel, correctional officers, and reduces the volume of police calls, making these resources more available for the cases that most need them

Increases the community’s understanding and ownership of the criminal justice process, as a result of victim and volunteer involvement

Our program is designed to provide facilitated restorative responses to harm that will enable the responsible party and the harmed party to meet in a safe, controlled environment. These Restorative Justice Conferences only take place after the ARJAA team has met with all the parties individually and assessed that it is safe and reasonable to proceed to a face-to-face meeting. The conference also enable the parents of a young person to be part of the restoration process, along with other members of the community who have been affected by the offence. Together, all conference participants (with the guidance of a trained facilitator) discuss and work together to create fair and proportionate resolution.

Any person responsible who completes restorative justice will not have a criminal record for the offense that led them to being referred.

Adverse police contact will only be listed if the person responsible is applying for a vulnerable sector check and it will state the offense type, the police file number, and that they were the subject of complaint or the suspect chargeable. A vulnerable sector check is only necessary for people applying to work with vulnerable groups ie. Children, people with disabilities, the elderly, etc). A standard criminal record check will not show adverse police contact.

The exceptions:

If the person responsible was a youth (ages12-17) at the time of the offense then adverse police contact will not be shown even if they are applying for a vulnerable sector check.

For adult persons responsible (those who committed the offense at ages 18 and up) adverse police contact for a vulnerable sector check will only be shown for the duration of each offense’s retention period. Each criminal offense has its own retention periods, for example: theft will show for 5 years and assault will show for 8 years. If there are questions about the retention periods for a particular offense check with ARJAA and we can inquire with the APD.

Retention Periods:

• Theft- 5 years

• Mischief- 5 years

• Fraud- 5 year

• Assault, assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm- 8 years

• Break and enter- 8 years

• Sexual assault- 20 years

Everything we talk about is confidential. The Abbotsford Police have a right to know who attends the meeting and will get a copy of the agreement at the end, but everything we discuss stays here. The only time we have to report something is if:

Someone is going to hurt themselves

Someone is going to hurt someone else

If a child is being abused

If a crime is going to be committed in the future