New Zealand: Church leaders call for review of criminal justice system
May 31, 2011
…In their call for a review of the criminal justice system, the Anglican leaders also draw attention to a paper released last year by mainstream churches, titled “Reducing Fiscal Pressures in the Justice System.” “The New Zealand criminal justice system is currently...
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Restorative practices: Whole-school change to build safer, saner school communities.
May 31, 2011
…Kosciusko Middle School, in Hamtramck, Michigan, is in the process of implementing the Whole-School Change Program, one of seven schools doing so in this independent municipality within the city of Detroit. Hamtramck has a highly diverse population that includes African-American, Arab,...
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Call the Governor: Restorative justice bill passes Colorado General Assembly
May 23, 2011
The bill encourages each school district in the state and the state charter school institute to implement restorative justice practices that each school in the district or each institute charter school can use in its disciplinary program. The bill also creates the right for a victim to be...
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The conversation: Does restorative justice work? Yes!
May 23, 2011
Reggie Aitchison: My recollection of that day is going into the town centre to do some shoplifting to fund my drug habit. We got through about five runs until the security guards had had enough and we couldn’t get in any shops. We were making our way back and it was only then, on the...
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Helping the community, building connections
May 23, 2011
Of course, I start thinking about how these programmes and sentiments relate to the values of restorative justice. While not directly addressing the needs of victims, programmes allowing prisoners to do something positive for the community reflect some restorative values. First, such...
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Restorative justice in the Cambodian community: Challenges and possibilities in practice
May 23, 2011
The aunt in this story speaks English well, so language was not a barrier to dialogue. But what she could not understand, or rather accept, was the community demand for dialogue after an incident of violence. The Cambodian community appreciates and encourages social cohesion and therefore her...
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A scary, but exciting prospect
May 23, 2011
At the same time, the participants were concerned about prisoner participation. Again, why would they participate? How will they treat the victims? What will they say? Will they really take ownership of their actions and the need to make things right? When talking about their crimes,...
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I just hugged the man who murdered my son
May 23, 2011
At StoryCorps he spoke with Mary Johnson, the mother of the boy he killed. Mary Johnson founded From Death to Life, an organization that supports mothers who have lost children to homicide, and encourages forgiveness between families of murderers and victims. Listen to the three-minute...
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Dialogues can offer healing for crime victims
May 16, 2011
Maryland’s victim-offender dialogue program began five or six years ago, and currently does anywhere from three to six dialogues per year, said Debbi Neighoff, victim services director for the state’s division of correction. The program was started because some victims ask if they...
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Victims’ Commissioner highlights financial costs for families in the aftermath of murder
May 16, 2011
The figures are based on a unique survey of 36 bereaved families who have had to find money for travel costs to trials, legal costs associated with ongoing court proceedings, for counselling for themselves and children to cope with trauma or even to clear up a murder scene or for having to...
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Sycamore Tree: Week 3
May 16, 2011
….As preparation for hearing from our visitors we watch the second episode in the core course films on Restorative Justice and Victims. The film explores how crime affects people, what someone who has been made a victim might feel and might need and the benefits of RJ to victims....
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Give prisoners the chance to help the community
May 16, 2011
Things have changed since then. Today many prisons have Braille Units. Many have workshops refurbishing bicycles or wheelchairs and other items for the disabled in this country and overseas. Every week in prisons all over the country groups of people with learning disabilities are welcomed...
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Victim’s daughter meets IRA bomber: An interview with Jo Berry
May 10, 2011
I think the answer is a yes and a no! We had no formal preparation at all. But I did become prepared on my own with the experiences that I had the year before which did help me a little. But then I wonder of anyone can be completely prepared. I will give you a...
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7 steps to stopping violence in relationships
May 9, 2011
Tragically, it is common for relationship conflicts to escalate to the point where there is a real danger of violence. In these circumstances, the first priority is to protect the parties from one another. Only then is it appropriate to work through the Stop Fighting tutorial . . . The...
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