This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
A little-known program in Longmont is helping offenders stay out of the court system and is helping to heal communities. This restorative justice program is conducted by the Longmont Community Justice Partnership (LCJP), a local nonprofit. Kathleen McGoey, the executive director of LCJP, describes restorative justice as restorative rather than retributive justice. In retributive justice, the state is technically the victim and the one who has been violated. In restorative justice, it is relationships within the community that have been violated. Restorative justice provides an alternative approach to the traditional court system to prioritize the needs and requests of the harmed parties. In the end, the community welcomes the offending individual back into the community as a restored being.
LCJP began in 1994 as Teaching Peace, initially working solely on bullying in schools. Now, LCJP works with all ages from 10-70 years old, although 75% of their clients are youth under the age of 18. In addition to working in the justice system and schools, LCJP provides training on restorative justice in the workplace.
In order to be eligible for the restorative justice program with LCJP, the offender must take responsibility for what they’ve done and the victim must approve. The only cases that LCJP does not handle are cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, traffic, or any crime for which there is a mandatory sentence. The restorative justice program is a complete diversion around the court system, meaning that if the offender completes their contract with LCJP, their record will not reflect the crime.
In order to be eligible for the restorative justice program with LCJP, the offender must take responsibility for what they’ve done and the victim must approve. The only cases that LCJP does not handle are cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, traffic, or any crime for which there is a mandatory sentence. The restorative justice program is a complete diversion around the court system, meaning that if the offender completes their contract with LCJP, their record will not reflect the crime.
Police refer cases directly to LCJP and give LCJP a police report. From there, an intake call occurs and two volunteer facilitators are assigned to the case. During a preconference, the facilitators meet with all parties involved in the case. After the preconference, a community group conference is held. During this conference, the victim, offender, two community members, police officer, and parents if the offender and victim are minors are present. Each party has a chance to speak about what happened and how they were affected by the crime. The group then focuses on identifying strengths the offender has that can be used to help repair the harm done to the victim and the community. Usually between three and five actions are agreed on and the offender then signs a contract stating they will complete those actions.
Actions to repair harm can take the form of apology or reflection letters, or some type of project including songs, poems, or artwork. The goal is to help the offenders begin to be seen as leaders. Offenders may also complete community service and pay restitution if this is an achievable goal. They may complete a research project in which they investigate various careers they might eventually want to have and look at how having a record for the crime they committed could impact that.
The program has enjoyed great success with 90% of offenders completing their contracts. Restorative justice programs have been shown to reduce the rates of recidivism. One study of LCJP data from 2007-2009 showed that only 10% of offenders reoffended within one year of completing their contract. The national average for recidivism is that 80% of offenders are likely to commit an additional crime once they’ve committed one crime.
Police like the program because it gives them a chance to interact with the community one-on-one. As LPD Sergeant Matt Cage says, “One of the best things about sending a case to restorative justice (or use LCJP) is that you get face time with offenders. You get an opportunity to represent our profession so people can see us as more than police officers. They get to see us as human beings. I’m proud to have changed many people’s opinions about police officers while participating in restorative justice circles.” Victims also like the program, and as one victim stated, “This entire process was extremely healing. I appreciated the friendly and amicable environment that was fostered, and overall this has been a very productive and beneficial experience.” Finally, the program is beneficial to changing the mindset of offenders by hearing other viewpoints and by focusing on the offender’s good attributes. One offender who completed the program put it this way: “By reinforcing those good attributes they gave me a new identity. I was able to see how my actions had affected somebody negatively but then also, I could affect the community in a positive way, how I could make a positive difference. So I no longer had to see myself as this defined bad person, as this criminal as this tattooed individual. And that was enormously empowering.”
The LCJP obtains funding through contracts with the City of Longmont, grants, donors, providing training to schools and other cities, and fees from participants. Participants are charged a fee on a sliding scale basis. Recently, LCJP provided training to the City of Frederick. This school year they will be working with Silver Creek High School and Timberline K-8 to provide more resources to teachers about using restorative practices as tools that complement social emotional learning. Services are also offered in Spanish.
Training of volunteers begins with a two-hour orientation which is given monthly. From there, volunteers participate in a further two-hour training session for community members. Once they complete this training, they can be a community member participant in the community group conference. If volunteers wish to become facilitators, they must complete an additional 16-hour training. Trainings occur throughout the year for volunteers, but are also open to the public for a registration fee. If you want to volunteer with LCJP, you can visit their website to obtain more information.
