Crime Survivors Speak: The first-ever national survey of victims view on safety & justice
  • 1 in 4 people are victims, half of those violent crime
  • More than half the crime : police wouldn't do anything, punishment would not help
  • 2/3 people in community suffer from trauma, cannot show up as their best selves

  • 500% Incarceration increase since 1980s, recidivism doesn't drop
  • BIPOC: 30% population, 60% population in prison
Only need 2 groups to start a circle (with surrogate if needed)

  • Harmed people: most want meaningful accountability
  • Responsible people: healing & integration
  • All those impacted: Cost effective & safety
Social Discipline Window: People behave better when those in authority act WITH them, not FOR or TO them

What outcomes should we, as a society, hope to achieve with the criminal justice system?
@ long-term safety

RJ Principles, Values, Practices

What are my intentions? What are my values?
  • What law was broken -- What harm was done and to whom? 
  • Who broke it -- What needs have arisen based on that harm?
  • How do we punish them (blame & shame) -- Whose obligation is it to meet those needs?
Thematic Circles: Rethinking Substances, Rethinking Drinking
Restorative Accountability Circles
Restorative Questionnaire & Conversation





Prevention:
  • SEL
  • Self-reflection
  • Restorative Parenting Partnership
  • Consent/ Boundary Education
  • Circle process
  • Community Investments
Intervention:
  • Restorative Conversations
  • Community Group Conferencing
  • Circle process
  • Personal & Interpersonal Work
Transformation: can happen any time, we cycle throughout the 3 steps
  • High Impact Dialogue/ High Risk Victim-Offender Dialogue
    • Victim Impact Panel: may not be as powerful as dialogue
  • Circles/ Communities of Support
  • Support Pods: COVID parent pods to support schooling
  • Community Accountability Processes

How can we incorporate RJ into the criminal legal system without it becoming a differently dressed form of diversion/ probation?
- pre-ticket/ pre-arrest referral to RJ
- diversion/ probation can use RJ as external services
- strong & diverse community relationships & partners
- allow all types of cases to be eligible for RJ, not just those who don't have criminal history
- RJ cannot be part of plea bargaining process. Judges need to be educated so that they don't order diversion with RJ as leverage
- protective orders to folks who're alleged to have caused harm --> make sure their statements aren't used against them, they feel safe to engage in productive dialogues
- involvement in the pre-sentence investigation/ process gives people harmed to influence outcomes
- use RJ as a way of interacting: streamline victim advocacy, NOT investigate victim as they report, make sure victims feel supported
- emphasize RJ as a right victims have in Colorado VRA

Bridging RJ into the Criminal Justice System



Red: Procedure: Crime unreported/ Not prosecuted -- Pre-file Diversion -- Post-file Diversion -- Plea/ Deferred -- Sentencing -- Post-sentencing -- Post-confinement Reintegration
Yellow: Gate Keepers: School, Police, Prosecutors, Courts, Probation, Corrections, Parole
Municipal, State, Federal: all 3 levels can use RJ
  • RJ can be engage from any step.
  • More than half crime-victims NOT engage in the system.

DA office
Probation office

3 Types of Diversions
  1. Law Enforcement
  2. Pre-file
  3. Post-File
  • RJ is PART of Diversion Sentence. RJ without Diversion and Diversion without RJ possible.
  • People affected by the harm decides what is needed to repair harm. Not a person deciding punishments.
Plea Negotiations
  • Pre-plea offer
  • Deferred Judgments
  • Other Plea Offer
Sentencing: PST report must include RJ suitability assessment
  • RJ Pre-sentence
  • RJ as Sentence
  • RJ as part of the Sentence
  • RJ as the Probation Intervention
  • RJ as term/ condition of Provation
Post-Conviction
  • Probation Supervision
  • Corrections - Youth (DYS) & Adults (DOC)
  • Re-sentencing & Sentencing Appeal
  • Post-Conviction Motions
  • Clemency
Post-Confinement & Reintegration
  • Community Corrections
  • Parole
  • Community Reintegration Support Circles
RJ Outside Legal System
  • Family Systems
  • Schools
  • Community Led

Legal considerations

  • Net-Widening: Prosecuter cannot not prosecute cases not supported by probable causes. These cases should not go to RJ. Only cases that DA intends to prosecute should be referred to RJ. Esp if evidence is thin, defendant is implicated in some ways. Unethical to refer cases without probably causes.
  • Voluntariness: defendants wanting to be accountable
  • Confidentiality
  • Right to Counsel: before admit responsibility or going into a process, have time to seek counsel. Pre-trial diversion: before they unds they have right to counsel
  • Statutory Requirements: court-ordered (pre-agreement, sentencing): not allowed in sex offense, domestic violence, stalking, protection violation
  • Victim Rights & VRA (Victim Rights Act): inform them early with lots of options (if not face to face, then write letter, surrogate on your behalf), no pressure



Bridging RJ into the Criminal Justice System

  1. Info available as early as possible & in writing so everyone can access
  2. Stay Restorative: Dignity & Respect
  3. Ensure Equitable Access: no point at which RJ is no longer an option, for older BIPOC as well, ensure you keep data to track equity
  4. Safeguard Voluntary Participation for All: no pressuring, no deciding on the spot with threats on consequences
    1. Victim/ Survivor (Person Harmed): Use surrogate/ integration circle
    2. Defendant (Person Caused Harm)
    3. All other participants
  5. Cultivate Open & Hones Dialogues: nothing they say will be used against them, confidential
  6. Offer Choices based on Self-Identified Needs: possibly online to added safety, restorative agreements (SMART goals) to meet needs
  7. Empower Crime Victims/ Survivors: access to system actors (lawyers, courts) to give enough time & flexibility for RJ process (e.g. if someone in custody, do we want to do in courtroom with shackles, or conference rooms with police outside)
  8. Collaborate, Collect Data & Improve: researchers know what data to collect about outcomes, equity, feedback from referrals & participants
  9. Confidentiality = essential for open, honest dialogue for optimal healing, meaningful accountability -- Confidentiality agreement / proclamation (safe from prosecution)

High-Impact Dialogue (HR-VOD, VOD, VOC): 

High-impact cases (e.g. a loved one died)
  1. Law enforcement, the prosecutor, or the crime victim/survivor(s) contacts RJ facilitators.
    • Completely voluntary at all points
    • Centered on meaningfully meeting the needs of the victim/survivor(s)
  2. Co-facilitators prepare:
    1. defendant (“the person who caused harm PWCH ”) in holding themselves accountable  victim/survivor(s) (“the person who was harmed”) in identifying their needs and getting them met
    2. If concerns for safety, re-traumatization, or ability to proceed in a restorative way, they will end the process.
  3. Suitability assessment (45-90min): whether PWCH can appropriately behave in dialogues
  4. PRE-CONFERENCING (45-120min) Meeting with victims
    • Hear what happened, how they were harmed, what they need to support healing
    • Explain HID process & answer questions
    • Empower through subtle choices, e.g. seating arrangements during dialogue, who'll first
  5. Typically, guide support person for victim
  6. Meet with PWCH (60-120min)
    1. Hear what happened, assess & support accountability, learning, growth 
  7. Typically, guide support person for PWCH
  8. Continue pre-conferencing until all ready, only proceed if they're confident it'll be healing for all participants
  9. FACILITATING HIGH-IMPACT DIALOGUE CONVERSATION (3-8 HOURS)
  10. Debrief with participants (45-60min)
  11. Return the Case to the Criminal Legal System if the case was referred from the criminal legal system
  12. Modifications: may tailor to specific needs

Colorado RJ Model
  • Community Group Conference
    • Screening &or Intake
    • Preconferences
    • Community Conference (parties, support persons, 2-3 community members, discuss impact & accountability)
    • Restorative Agreement (harm to person, harm to themselves, harm to community)
    • Reintegration
    • Cultivate Empathy
    • Completion/ Celebration Circle
  • High Impact Dialogue (HR-VOD high-risk victim offender, VOD, VOC)
    • Crime victim/ survivor must request (initiation, victim do appropriateness survey)
    • Preconferences (many)
    • Dialogue (support people too, not necessarily community member)
    • Focus on crime victim/ survivor needs
    • Empower crime victims
  • RJ is MORE than direct dialogue: learning circles, support circles, family-reintegration circles, community-reintegration circles
  • Laws: 
    • Victim's Rights Act, 
    • Purpose of Children's Code, Criminal Code, & Sentencing
    • Defined in Titles 18 & 19
  • Equitable Statewide Access: network of highly-skilled RJ facilitators who collectively cover the entire all of Colorado
    • Victim advocacy: VOI, CCSA, Blue Bench
    • Defense advocacy: PD's Office, ADC, Powell Project
    • Elected DAs
  • Community-Led Implementation: Restorative JeffCo (Jefferson County)

Colorado Spotlight

  • Restorative Community: citizens, school, cultural institutions, workplaces, courts, law enforcement
  • Boulder County: Sheriff's Office, District Attorney's Office (>50% juvenile cases diverted), Probation Department, Longmont Community Justice Partnership (with law enforcement), Municipal programs, schools & Colleges
  • Rural, Community-based RJ: Center for Restorative Programs
    • Non-profit began to serve community
    • Built relationships with DA's office 
    • Rethinking substances program, Traffic Circles
  • Restorative Denver: for adults
    • Buy-in from leadership in the DA's Office
    • Must have a person in DA's Office whose job is to run the program!
    • Confidentiality Proclamation --> not used against PWCH
    • Victim-Centered
    • Attempt Culture Change - recidivism record, spreading words
    • Court Process - no guilty plea & cases are dismissed & sealed

11 Steps to Implement RJ Programs


#1: What is my intention & objective?

#2: What are my restorative values

  1. Form Stakeholder Group to Collaborate:
    1. DA's Office, Public Defender's Office
    2. Actual RJ work (community agency, individual facilitator, ...)
    3. Probation department, judge/ judicial staff, police rep, victim advocate, private defense counsel
    4. Commit to meeting 1-2 times/month to discuss all aspects until launching
  2. Educate Workgroup Members & Key Partners
    1. Everyone same understanding of what RJ is, its many processes & models
      1. Basic training for all before designing program
      2. Ongoing education efforts?
  3. Find Funding
    1. If program is in-house (local gov agency - city, county, DA's office, court) --> can you get agency to commit to including RJ in budget?
    2. If program is a partnership with a community agency, does agency have access to funds/ know interested donors?
    3. Are grants available?
    4. Can program sustained using primarily volunteer staff? Or you need to find funds to compensate facilitators?
    5. Funding Forums:
      1. Restorative Justice Funding Roundtable Part 1: Sustaining Programs - Stories from the Field (May 2021)
        (September 2021)
      2. Funding Roundtable Part 2: RJ for Juveniles: Exploring Four Colorado Funding Streams
  4. Consider RJ Program Basics:
    1. In-house, or partnership between gov agency & community org?
    2. Processes? E..g.: Community Group Conferencing, High-Impact Dialogue, a thematic model, other processes?
      1. RJ for victimless crimes?
      2. RJ for victims/ survivors who need support?
    3. How long will it take defendants to complete the program?
    4. Will program include these elements, what will each look like?
      1. Defendant screening (suitability assessment)
      2. Victim options
      3. Additional intakes (if run through community agency)
      4. Referrals to community services (mental health/ substance abuse support)
      5. Pre-conferences - any particular order? (e.g. defendant first to make sure willingness to be responsible, then victim? or victim first to clarify their needs, then defendant?)
      6. Type of process: CGC, HID, others?
      7. Guidelines for developing restorative agreement
      8. Agreement monitoring
      9. Completion circle
      10. Faci debrief
      11. Notification to referral source (& RJ participants) that defendant completed program
    5. Is there a fee to participate? Sliding scale? Payment process? What will the $ go toward?
    6. Can defense attorneys participate in any part of the process (but not in their own case)?
    7. Can district attorneys (or any interested party) observe? (Recommend: not allowing district attorneys, defense attorneys or victim advocates to observe in their assigned cases)
  5. Protect Open & Honest Dialogue with Confidentiality
    1. How will program project confidentiality?
    2. How will you ensure confidentiality? (district attorney sign, prosecuter agree not to use defendant's statements)
    3. Limits to confidentiality (civil cases, immigration proceedings, mandatory reporting, if RJ participant discloses evidence of a new crime). How will you communicate this to participants?
  6. Draft Policies & Procedures:
    1. Purpose of program & Goals (vision for 1, 3, 5 year)
    2. Eligibility: which cases?
      1. Petty, misdemeanors, and/or felonies?
      2. Certain charges excluded?
      3. Cases with restitution (repay stolen $)? Will restitution be decided within RJ process or through court?
      4. Victim's Rights Act (VRA) cases?
    3. How many cases/ month? - enough $ or fac?
    4. Defendant eligibility & contact
    5. Victim eligibility & contact
      1. How long will they have to decide?
      2. Not willing/ able to participant --> select surrogate? fill out impact statement? submit written questions to be answered by defendant? change their mind?
      3. Apology letter process, to ensure victims do not receive unwanted contact?
    6. How will cases be referred?
    7. Court process: will case remain active? will case be dismissed and refiled? deferred judgment? other plea offers?
  7. Monitor Compliance & Program Completion:
    1. What if defendant reoffends, or you lose contact with them?
    2. What causes a defendant to be terminated from RJ?
  8. Create Materials About Program:
    1. Policy & Procedures
    2. Screening forms, Risk/ Needs assessment, Victim Impact Statement, ...
    3. Letter: describe to interested defendants/ victims, victims you cannot reach
  9. Map Staffing, Volunteers, Training:
    1. Important players
      1. Screen cases
      2. RJ program Manager
      3. RJ facilitator
      4. Community Members
      5. Police Officer
    2. Training (Colorado standard of 24-hour of training)
    3. Mentorship 
    4. Advisory Group
  10. Track, Evaluate & Incorporate Data
    1. Indicators? (recidivism, evaluations, equity, etc.)
  11. Community Connection
    1. Spreading: press conference/ release, community presentations & Q&A, summary data reports, share testimonials, etc.



The Future of Criminal Justice Reform in Colorado

Alice Price, Chair of the Colorado Restorative Justice Council; 
Deb Witzel, RJ consultant with 3 Stories Consulting; debwitzel@gmail.com
Tony Hershey from the 9th Judicial District Attorney’s office; 
Mary Bess Bolling, RJ Coordinator for the regional nonprofit, YouthZone mbolling@youthzone.com

History

  • First, then community-based programs, train volunteers in RJ, target young people who slipped in school-to-prison pipeline
    • Juvenile facility & Detention: used to have 7 beds, now only 2
    • School resource officers (SRO)
  • Later: deeper into prison, high-impact cases
  • Other: pre-jurisdiction, sentencing, re-entry, also early-education
  • 40 references added to legislation, scaffolding in our state statutes
    • Make sure access at all levels
  • Ongoing public entity: different departments
  • https://ccrjp.org/gatherings
  • Difficult to get the right messaging out: not soft, hold hand, but actually speak our truth & hear
    • You either frame or be framed.
  • 5-year study by RJ Colorado: 
    • 48% Latinx, 45% white, 52% male, 2/10 suicidal/ trauma/ substance disorder
    • Juvenile diversion, 99% reached agreement through conference, dialogue
    • 91% completed contract
    • Those involved reported high satisfaction
    • Longer-term study: only 8.6 recidivated among 120+ involved
  • Adults cases: parallel result: <10% recidivism, >90% follow-through
  • Juvenile now have lots of support coming in to get them through system

The 5 R's of Restorative Practice - Beverly B. Title, Ph.D.

  1. Relationship:
    • when a wrong occurs, individuals & communities feel violated
    • may be mended through willingness to be accountable & make repair of harms done
  2. Respect:
    • Deep listening, not presume, honor POV
  3. Responsibility:
    • Admit wrong that was done, even if unintentional
    • Everyone search in their heart if there's any part for which they have some responsibility, and accept the impact
  4. Repair:
    • All stakeholders be involved in identifying the harm & having a voice
    • Regain/ strengthen self-respect & respect of others
    • Set aside thoughts of revenge & punishment
  5. Reintegration:
    • Put the hurt behind, moved into a new role
    • Recognize their worth & importance of the learning accomplished
Presenting: Liz Porter-Merrill

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