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California Voter |
Juvenile Justice in California
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| Dealing with Juvenile Delinquency | ||
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California Voter |
Juvenile Justice in California
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| Dealing with Juvenile Delinquency | ||
| The League of Women Voters of California | Fall 1999 |
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In this section... DEALING WITH JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
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An article from the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), a component of the Office of Justice Programs, recommends "a strategy which emphasizes prevention and early intervention and the development of a system of graduated sanctions that holds youth accountable and protects communities.
"[T]he Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) Model [is] an effective tool for achieving youth accountability and enhancing community safety and combating delinquency. The BARJ Model outlines an alternative philosophy: restorative justice, and a new mission, `the balanced approach,' which requires juvenile justice professionals to devote attention to:
enabling offenders to make amends to their victims and community; increasing offender competencies; and protecting the public through processes in which individual victims, the community and offenders are all active participants. "To be accountable for behavior is to answer to individuals who are affected by the behavior. It is, however, a process that opens up the opportunity for personal growth that may reduce the likelihood of repeating the harmful behavior. It is difficult to accept full responsibility for harming others without a support system in place and a sense that there will be an opportunity to gain acceptance in the community. Therefore, accountability and support must go hand in hand.
"Implementation must begin with consensus building among key stakeholders and testing with small pilot projects to develop the model. This evolutionary process can build on existing programs and practices that reflect restorative justice principles, such as victim-offender mediation, family group conferencing, community service, restitution and work experience." OJJDP's Guide for Implementing the Balanced and Restorative Justice Model lists key activities to implement a more balanced and restorative justice model.
OJJDP mentions these two California programs among its recommended models:
"Institute for Conflict Management—Orange, CA. The Institute for Conflict Management is sponsored by the St. Vincent de Paul Society, a church-related and community-based social service agency. Prior to bringing a victim and offender together, a mediator meets separately with each party to listen to each story, explain the process and invite participation. During the mediation session, the victim and offender discuss the crime and its impact on their lives. They devise a plan for the offender to make amends.
"Neighborhood Citizens Committee—Long Beach, CA. These community volunteers are dedicated to helping youth who have committed minor offenses. The volunteers listen to the youth and their families, give attention to the juvenile as an individual and supervise community service that stresses responsibility, contributes to society and helps the youth develop an awareness of the world around him or her through exposure to new people, places and events."
The California Youth Authority has undertaken another promising program that requires offenders to take personal responsibility for their actions:
DeWitt Nelson Youth Correctional Facility—Stockton, CA. Restorative justice requires that offenders take personal responsibility for their actions and actively work to repair the harm that they have caused victims and the community. Restorative justice projects give the offender the opportunity and encouragement to take responsibility to all individual victims and the community as a whole, increase offenders' skills and abilities and provide a way for the offender to come through the experience with added insight about his or her role within the community. This added insight will lead to a more positive and successful transition back into the community. It is hoped that the community will view offenders as essential resources who are a value to the community through their work contributions.
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