Public Discourse Statement – California: Circle Up

A professor once had us pair up with a classmate and face each other 2 feet apartthen, for five minutes, we were to look one another in the eyeThere was lots of uncomfortable giggling & smiling before people settled in and got educatedIf you really want to connect with someone – I dare you to find a partner and give it a try

When I was a kid breaking rules & being dealt consequences I was told to look into people’s eyes when apologizing for causing harmThen everyone involved would sit and decide together how I could repair thingsLike when I spent 3 Saturdays cleaning the fire station – after getting caught, twice, pulling the fire alarm

Well another alarm is sounding, California jails full of promising young adultsMake a mistake, damage property, hurt someone - go to jail without having to look anyone in the eye More often than not - none of the parties involved are satisfied with the results It’s understandable victims want to see perpetrators sufferbut research shows victims get little satisfaction from perpetrator simply going to jail for the crimeIn comparison, Sonoma County using an approach of Restorative Justice for young offenders after one-thousand cases, 94% of victims satisfied & law enforcement content 98% of the time

Restorative Justice follows an approach of mediation used by indigenous culturesall parties involved sit in a circle and identify ways a crime’s harm may be better healedVictims talk to perpetrators, look them in the eye, explain the damage done & how it’s made them feel

In comparison, the current legal system focuses almost entirely on punishment those affected by crimes verbally abuse youth as the bailiff escorts him from the roomOffender often some kid who’s been talked to like that his entire lifeMaybe someday he’ll make amends with the victims and the communitybut first - 15 years of making license plates & pushing a broom

Sonoma County currently serves 150 young men a year in what’s referred to as Diversion Programs,youth held accountable for their behavior & take responsibility to repair harm doneEmphasis on peer interactions, mentoring and rites of passage to develop integrity, decision making & life skills In comparison to what youth learn in a jail cell – hard to make a circle when you’re the only one

Community-supported mediation, utilizing Group Wisdom,you never know what voice will strike home with a youthIt’s amazing what happens when victims, perpetrators, and people who care sit together in a circlePunishment only one aspect of achieving true reconciliation, 94% victim satisfaction speaks to this greater truth

Supporters of Restorative Justice say crimes against individuals and communities, not the stateyet it’s the state doing the punishing, filling the prisons, and putting the youth awayAverage offender arrested 7.8 times over 12 years - a revolving door ruining lives, families, and communitiesFor those who don’t care about the people - $250,000 per juvenile offender is what California taxpayers pay So look into Restorative Justice services in your community, help a troubled young man stop the revolving doorIf you hear yourself say ‘that kid’s a lost cause’Look yourself in the eye for five minutes to see if you really mean it,because with someone’s life in the balance - you really should be sure PDS-MCM 2013