Aims, Goals and Values of Community Conferencing
Aims, goals and values of Youth Justice Conferencing
Youth justice conferencing is a restorative justice process.
Restorative justice provides a response to criminal behaviour that
takes into account the needs of and actively involves the offender,
victims and community[footnoteRef:1]. [1: United Nations (2006).
Handbook on Restorative Justice Programmes, Criminal Justice
Handbook Series. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna.
http://www.unodc.org/pdf/criminal_justice/06-56290_Ebook.pdf]
Marshall (1999) provides a succinct description of restorative
justice:
“A process whereby parties with a stake in a specific offence
collectively resolve how to deal with the aftermath of the offence
and its implications for the future”[footnoteRef:2] [2: Marshall, T
(1999). Restorative Justice: An Overview. A report by the Home
Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate, London.
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/occ-resjus.pdf ]
It is important to note that restorative justice practice gives
as much importance to the conference process (the interaction) as
to the outcome (the conference reaching agreement and the young
person completing all commitments included in the agreement).
Key aim:Restoration
The primary aim of a youth justice conference is restoration for
those people affected by the young person’s offending
behaviour.
“Restoration” refers to the bringing back to a former condition
something that has been lost or taken away. What is considered to
be ‘restorative’ is subjective and closely linked to what is felt
to be ‘meaningful’ and is dependant on the beliefs of the victims,
young person and community.
Goals:The following goals underpin the program’s key aim of
restoration.
Participation
Parties involved in a conflict should be actively involved in
the decision-making about how a matter is resolved. This translates
to the victim, young person and community all having an opportunity
to determine a mutually acceptable response to repairing the harm
caused by the crime. Participation by all parties should be on an
informed basis with adequate preparation and safeguards to ensure a
safe, respectful and balanced environment.
Accountability
The young person should be held accountable for their offending
behaviour, and given the opportunity to:
· admit and engage in dialogue about their commission of the
offence (admit the behaviour)
· understand that the behaviour is not acceptable (be aware of
the wrongdoing)
· understand the consequences of their offending actions (hear
and gain appreciation of the harm they have caused others)
The young person accepting responsibility and being held to
account for their offending behaviour are essential components of
the restorative process.
Reparation
The needs of victims should be acknowledged and the young person
should be provided with an opportunity to make amends (to
right-the-wrong they have done to another).
All persons affected by the offending behaviour should have an
opportunity to work towards determining what may be done to repair
the harm. Reparation for the harm is primarily targeted to
addressing the needs of victims although it can also refer to the
repairing of relationships among participants.
Reintegration
Victims should be provided with an opportunity for healing and
reintegration including a sense of control, security and closure.
The young person should be provided with an opportunity to develop
socially responsible ways of behaving and an opportunity to
strengthen their social and personal connections with their family
or community of care and within the wider community. The family and
community should also be encouraged to accept responsibility to
support the young person in their development.
Values:A range of values underpin the key restorative goals of
participation, accountability, reparation and reintegration. These
include:
1. provision of a physically and emotionally safe and respectful
environment that values the dignity of participants
1. safeguards for the rights of young people and victims
1. informed and voluntary participation
1. a procedurally fair process for all parties
1. a facilitated, impartial and balanced process
1. culturally appropriate and responsive processes for all
participants
1. an achievable, lawful and relevant outcome that is developed
and owned by participants and directed at repairing the harm for
the victim.
Outcomes:Engaging restorative justice responses to offending can
result in a number of desirable outcomes including:
1. a young person’s moral and cognitive development
1. the diversion of a young person from further involvement with
the criminal justice system.
“Diversion” of young people from the criminal justice system can
refer to:
1. diversion from appearing at a criminal court (diversion from
formal prosecution) and/or
1. a reduction in future criminal activity including a decrease
in severity, frequency and/or cessation of offending (diversion
from offending)[footnoteRef:3]. [3: Hayes, H & Daly, K (2004).
Conferencing and Re-offending in Queensland. The Australian and New
Zealand Journal of Criminology, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 167-191 and
Strang, H, Barnes, G, Braithwaite, J & Sherman, L (1999).
Experiments in restorative policing: a progress report on the
Canberra Reintegrative Shaming Experiments (RISE). Australian
National University.]
Benefits:Youth justice conferences can result in a range of
benefits for participants.
For victims, conferences offer an opportunity to:
· hold the young person personally accountable
· tell their story and discuss their feelings directly with the
person who caused them harm
· seek answers to the questions that they may have about the
crime including ‘why’ it occurred and ‘how’ the decision was made
to involve them as the victim
· be affirmed as blameless for the offence
· participate in the process of working out how the young person
should attempt to repair the harm they have caused
· potentially receive an apology, restitiution or other forms of
repair
· obtain closure on the matter
· be restored.
Benefits for young people who have offended can include
providing them with an opportunity to:
· admit their offence and take responsibility for their
offending behaviour
· learn and develop a greater understanding of the consequences
of their behaviour on others including the victim and their own
family/community
· offer an apology and explanation to affected persons thereby
increasing their sense of addressing the harm they have caused
· participate in the decision on how to make things right
· demonstrate their remorse in a tangible way
· be diverted from the formal court system (police
referrals)
· restore their self-image and self-respect.
Benefits for the families and communities of young people who
have offended can include providing them with an opportunity
to:
1. strengthen their relationship with the young person
1. learn about the young person’s behaviour and gain greater
insight into its impact on others
1. understand how the young person feels about issues associated
with their offending behaviour
1. take an active role in deciding an appropriate response to
offending behaviour
1. support the young person’s compliance with an agreement.