Who can use restorative justice?
The Restorative Justice youth Conferencing Program is for youth and young adults (age 10-22) who commit a crime. The program covers incidents that take place in Larimer County. Most RJ cases deal with misdemeanors and first-time offenders. The program does accept felonies and repeat offenders after screening and referral from the courts.
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How do I make a referral to the RJ program?
Youth offenders or their parents/guardians can ask to participate in the restorative justice program. A private citizen may ask for restorative justice conferencing to be used, however the request must be made to the source responsible for referring the matter (i.e. police officer, school official, district attorney, etc.)
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What are the requirements to participate in a Restorative Justice Youth Conference?
- The offender takes responsibility for his or her actions.
- The offender's (if a youth) parent or guardian agrees to participate.
- The victim or victim representative agrees to participate in the conference.
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What is the difference between Restorative Justice and our traditional legal system?
Traditionally when a crime is committed, the justice system has been primarily concerned with three questions:
- Who did it?
- What laws were broken?
- What should be done to punish or treat the offender?
This type of approach is considered retributive, where the intent is to get retribution or punishment for an offense committed.
Restorative justice programs emphasize three very different questions:
- What is the nature of the harm resulting from the crime?
- What needs to be done to "make it right" or repair the harm?
- Who is responsible for this repair?
This approach is restorative, where the intent is to restore the victim and community affected by the crime as close as possible to pre-crime conditions.
That is the basic philosophical difference. There are many other procedural differences as well.
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What if I participate in a conference and I don't like the outcome?
In a Restorative Justice conference, the outcome or agreement coming out of the conference is one that must be acceptable to everyone present. If you participate in a conference, you will have a say in what goes into the agreement and will be part of building a solution that is agreeable to you as well as everyone else present.
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Who runs the Restorative Justice Youth Conferences?
A Restorative Justice Youth Conference is put together by the coordinator and community volunteers who help coordinate and facilitate these conferences. These volunteers are community members with an interest in restorative justice. They come from a variety of backgrounds and are required to go through an application process similar to the process for city employees. In addition, volunteers participate in training specific for restorative justice conferencing.
The program currently has 35 active volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering or for more information about volunteering, call coordinator Perrie McMillen, 566-8160.
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