A couple of weeks ago women in North Point Douglas organized a healing ceremony at the bus shelter where, in the last seven months, two people have been shot. According to news reports and interviews, the ceremony was an initiative of the community to acknowledge and begin to move beyond the trauma experienced as a result of these two incidents.
To many, this action in the community may have seemed small and relatively insignificant. As a supporter and promoter of the principles of restorative justice, however, I see this as a positive step for community well-being.
The discussions and musings in the field of restorative justice are almost always connected in some way to relationships – between the victim and the offender, the offender and the community, or the victim and the community. Underlying all these discussions about interaction, impact and relationships must be the understanding that each of the players have their own work to do – separate from the others. For this community at this moment, it included a ceremony - a symbolic gesture with powerful implications.
Restorative Justice is not only concerned with the intersection of individuals or groups in relationships. It is also interested in, and needs to continue to find meaningful ways to promote the personal work necessary to realize just and restorative actions in relationships.
LCN
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Inception
Inception is a 2010 American science fiction action film written, produced and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, The film centers on Dom Cobb, a thief who enters the dreams of others to obtain information that is otherwise inaccessible. For a new twist in the plot, Cobb and his team of specialists are forced to plant an idea in a target's subconscious. The film's title refers to the task of planting an idea rather than stealing one, a concept that Cobb is less acquainted with.
The movie was not only a wonderful evening’s entertainment for my husband and I, but also a reminder of the power of a single idea.
As Cobb says, “What's the most resilient parasite? An Idea. A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules. Which is why I have to steal it.”
In the play Cobb says that it is harder to plant a negative idea, which they have been asked to do, rather than a positive idea, He says a positive idea is more receptive to most because everyone yearns for reconciliation. He gave the impression everyone wants peace over war, that the need to connect and be loved always takes precedence.
I don’t know. I hope he’s right.
I was introduced to Restorative Justice almost twenty years ago. From the very beginning it was presented to me as an "idea" rather than a program, as principles before practice.
Crime does immeasurable harm, not only because of the actual loss in the crime but the shattering of trust in other human beings, the introduction of fear and anger.
The restorative justice movement that has allowed many to think outside of the box, in this case to think outside the legalities and the rules to explore the issue of how one heals from a crime began with an idea in the form of a question. How does one restore trust in humanity? How do we live with an offender whom we might never know, but who still remains part of our lives? How can we let go of the past and move triumphantly and with dignity in our future?
For all of this we need a safe place to face our demons, scream out our pain and to have the freedom to find the answers.
“Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
The movie was not only a wonderful evening’s entertainment for my husband and I, but also a reminder of the power of a single idea.
As Cobb says, “What's the most resilient parasite? An Idea. A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules. Which is why I have to steal it.”
In the play Cobb says that it is harder to plant a negative idea, which they have been asked to do, rather than a positive idea, He says a positive idea is more receptive to most because everyone yearns for reconciliation. He gave the impression everyone wants peace over war, that the need to connect and be loved always takes precedence.
I don’t know. I hope he’s right.
I was introduced to Restorative Justice almost twenty years ago. From the very beginning it was presented to me as an "idea" rather than a program, as principles before practice.
Crime does immeasurable harm, not only because of the actual loss in the crime but the shattering of trust in other human beings, the introduction of fear and anger.
The restorative justice movement that has allowed many to think outside of the box, in this case to think outside the legalities and the rules to explore the issue of how one heals from a crime began with an idea in the form of a question. How does one restore trust in humanity? How do we live with an offender whom we might never know, but who still remains part of our lives? How can we let go of the past and move triumphantly and with dignity in our future?
For all of this we need a safe place to face our demons, scream out our pain and to have the freedom to find the answers.
“Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Restorative Justice (RJ) in every day life....
Over the last number of years I have reflected on RJ and the rest of our lives - like our workplaces and homes. What does it mean that RJ is primarily used in victim/offender contexts whether that be in the justice system or playground misbehaviour? One of my frustrations about mediating in the criminal justice system was that RJ was primarily focused on the incident where there was a clear victim and offender as defined by the law.
Yet in many of the justice situations I mediated there was always a context - often the `offender'; had experienced mistreatment by the `victim; in an earlier incident. I found that the dynamics of justice-initiated mediations too often limited the scope of the conversations to the 'incident', in spite of efforts by the mediators to broaden the conversation to the context in which the offence occurred.
What I love about workplace mediation is that we get to talk about the themes and patterns in the relationship where people move between feeling victimized, and being the offender - with the retributive justice world view often lurking in the background.
My experience in these contexts suggests that, until the mediation, RJ is not nearly as common in the workplace as we might think.And if we are trying to come up for alternatives to Retributive Justice - don't we need to start with our every day lives like at home and work where avoidance and retribution abound? Will society be ready to apply restorative justice to 'criminals' if they don't experience it at home and work?
Have others given thought to how RJ relates to home and workplace, where relationships are more complex, on-going, and people shift between the 'victim', 'offender', and 'deliverer of (retributive) justice'?
Janet P. Schmidt
Facilitated Solutions
Workplace Mediation and Conflict Management Services
Yet in many of the justice situations I mediated there was always a context - often the `offender'; had experienced mistreatment by the `victim; in an earlier incident. I found that the dynamics of justice-initiated mediations too often limited the scope of the conversations to the 'incident', in spite of efforts by the mediators to broaden the conversation to the context in which the offence occurred.
What I love about workplace mediation is that we get to talk about the themes and patterns in the relationship where people move between feeling victimized, and being the offender - with the retributive justice world view often lurking in the background.
My experience in these contexts suggests that, until the mediation, RJ is not nearly as common in the workplace as we might think.And if we are trying to come up for alternatives to Retributive Justice - don't we need to start with our every day lives like at home and work where avoidance and retribution abound? Will society be ready to apply restorative justice to 'criminals' if they don't experience it at home and work?
Have others given thought to how RJ relates to home and workplace, where relationships are more complex, on-going, and people shift between the 'victim', 'offender', and 'deliverer of (retributive) justice'?
Janet P. Schmidt
Facilitated Solutions
Workplace Mediation and Conflict Management Services
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Fighting Crime Or Fighting the Fear of Crime?
One constant source of bemusement and frustration is the apparently growing gap between the public fear of crime and the actual reality. Daily we are bombarded with graphic accounts of increasing numbers of horrific crimes committed by bloodthirsty individuals despite the lack of any convincing statistical evidence for such sharply increasing crime rates.
The traditional Canadian response to crime has never been able to adequately respond to the fear of crime. The Canadian criminal justice system has certainly developed a thorough range of mechanisms and processes to respond to specific incidents and situations of harm but this focus on the past, on the specific facts of a given case and on the determination and prosecution of guilt, does little to build a healthier future for all those impacted. The response to crime is to punish individuals as isolated units, making it more difficult to restore wellbeing and healing to offenders and victims as members of larger communities. So we are caught in a vicious cycle, responding out of fear but in a way that only leaves us more isolated and fearful than ever.
Would it not make more sense to respond to crime in a way that directly addressed the fear of crime at the same time? Here is the beauty of a restorative justice alternative. Fears are addressed through a process of dialogue that shifts the focus from punishment for breaking specific laws to understanding and fixing the harms done. A restorative justice encounter can become an occasion to create understanding between isolated fearful parties and an occasion for a community to come together and take control over its own development.
The growing public fear of crime cannot be reversed through processes which only punish and isolate people more and more. Now, more than ever, we need to promote alternatives that can restore healthy communities and facilitate healthier dialogue, rather than letting ourselves be manipulated by growing fears and growing isolation.
The traditional Canadian response to crime has never been able to adequately respond to the fear of crime. The Canadian criminal justice system has certainly developed a thorough range of mechanisms and processes to respond to specific incidents and situations of harm but this focus on the past, on the specific facts of a given case and on the determination and prosecution of guilt, does little to build a healthier future for all those impacted. The response to crime is to punish individuals as isolated units, making it more difficult to restore wellbeing and healing to offenders and victims as members of larger communities. So we are caught in a vicious cycle, responding out of fear but in a way that only leaves us more isolated and fearful than ever.
Would it not make more sense to respond to crime in a way that directly addressed the fear of crime at the same time? Here is the beauty of a restorative justice alternative. Fears are addressed through a process of dialogue that shifts the focus from punishment for breaking specific laws to understanding and fixing the harms done. A restorative justice encounter can become an occasion to create understanding between isolated fearful parties and an occasion for a community to come together and take control over its own development.
The growing public fear of crime cannot be reversed through processes which only punish and isolate people more and more. Now, more than ever, we need to promote alternatives that can restore healthy communities and facilitate healthier dialogue, rather than letting ourselves be manipulated by growing fears and growing isolation.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
More on truth in sentencing ...
It seems as though the Globe and Mail has taken a real interest in the Truth and Sentencing Act. On June 29th, respected Globe columnist Jeffery Simpson wrote an interesting opinion in which he said, “There’s a difference between being “tough on crime,” as the federal Conservatives profess to be, and being stupid about crime, which is what they are.”
These are strong words from Simpson who thinks the act will not impact crime rates, but will increase the costs of running prisons. And he takes specific note of Manitoba’s justice system. Manitoba’s prison system is seriously overcrowded.
There is a lot of argument and debate about how much more government will have to spend to increase prison cells. To an outsider, it sounds like arguing whether the Titanic will sink in 2 hours, 4 hours or, as the stern plunges into the water that the ship is still unsinkable.
Suppose the government, rather then putting money into the prison system to make it bigger, invested the same amount of money into solving some of the problems in inner city Winnipeg? That seems like a much better investment than prison cells.
MRJN
These are strong words from Simpson who thinks the act will not impact crime rates, but will increase the costs of running prisons. And he takes specific note of Manitoba’s justice system. Manitoba’s prison system is seriously overcrowded.
There is a lot of argument and debate about how much more government will have to spend to increase prison cells. To an outsider, it sounds like arguing whether the Titanic will sink in 2 hours, 4 hours or, as the stern plunges into the water that the ship is still unsinkable.
Suppose the government, rather then putting money into the prison system to make it bigger, invested the same amount of money into solving some of the problems in inner city Winnipeg? That seems like a much better investment than prison cells.
MRJN
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