Community Justice Circles and Conferencing
Community Justice Circles (CJC's) help communities understand the causes of crime by using a focused approach to crime prevention.
CJC's include:
- The victim
- The offender
- Victim and offender family members
- Other supports
- Trained members of the neighbourhood
CJC's hold offenders accountable for their actions and work with them in developing solutions to repair harm caused by offences.
Increased neighbourhood safety and well-being are built by supportive networks and relationships created by the CJC's. Citizen involvement encourages youth to remain connected to their communities.
CJC's respond to victims needs resulting in partnerships, shared resources and ownership of concerns within each community.
Volunteers
Volunteers are key to the success of CJC's and they receive training in:
- Restorative justice practice
- Communication
- Cultural awareness
- Victimization of crime
- Community resources
- All appropriate legislation such as the Youth Criminal Justice Act
- Each volunteer receives practical experience in training through role playing
Applications are welcome to become a volunteer. Every candidate will be screened and only suitable individuals will be accepted.
To find out more information about becoming a CJC volunteer, please contact or call (519) 850-3777
Restorative Justice Signposts
"Crime wounds...Justice heals"
Harry Mika and Hoard Zehr, 1996
When you do justice restoratively you will...
- Focus on the harms of wrongdoing more than the rules that have been broken
- Show equal concern and commitment to victims and offenders, involving both in the process of justice
- Work toward the restoration of victims, empowering them and responding to their needs as they see them
- Support offenders while encouraging them to understand, accept and carry out their obligations
- Recognize that while obligations may be difficult for offenders, they should not be intended as harms and they must be achievable
- Provide opportunities for dialogue, direct or indirect, between victims and offenders as appropriate
- Involve and empower the affected community through the justice process and increase their capacity to recognize and respond to community bases of crime
- Encourage collaboration and reintegration rather than coercion and isolation
- Show respect to all parties including victims, offenders, justice colleagues
