NCJ Number
205345
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice Volume: 46 Issue: 3 Dated: April 2004 Pages: 343-366
Date Published
April 2004
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This study conducted in British Columbia (Canada) examined recent developments in conferencing policies and practices under the provisions of the new Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA).
Abstract
Drawing on principles and practices from the diversion and restorative justice movements in juvenile justice, conferencing is the process that brings selected people together to give advice on decisions regarding the response to a harmful, illegal act committed by a juvenile. The YCJA encourages but does not require conferencing. Conferencing policies and guidelines were drafted within the Youth Justice Policy and Program Support branch of the British Columbia Ministry of Children and Family Development, and these policies were implemented to coincide with passage of the YCJA on April 1, 2003. This discussion of conferencing in British Columbia focuses on six types of conferences: multidisciplinary or integrated management conferences, which involve a meeting of all parties who are working with a juvenile and his/her family for the purpose of developing an integrated service plan; family group restorative conferences, which are designed to bring together a juvenile offender and the person harmed by the offense, along with their respective families and supporters, as well as other key people affected by the harm and relevant community residents; community accountability programs, which are neighborhood programs that accept referrals from police to resolve relatively minor offenses as an alternative to court proceedings; youth justice committees, which act as citizen advisory committees to the youth court; victim-offender reconciliation programs, which bring victims and offenders together with a trained mediator to bring resolution to an offense; and Aboriginal sentencing circles, which involve representatives of the community, the victim, the offender, supporters, and respected elders meeting to determine how an offense should be resolved. This article also addresses the features of conferences for the different participants, namely, youth, victims, family and community members, youth probation workers, judges, and lawyers. Another issue discussed is whether conferences should be limited to minor offenses or also encompass offenses that have involved serious harm. The evidence from British Columbia is that community members, including volunteers, are willing and able to participate in and contribute to constructive conferencing processes that produce positive outcomes for youth, victims, families, and the community. Challenges remain, however, including resource limitations that restrict conferencing to the major population areas, as well as maintaining a focus on accountability that repairs harms to victims. A major challenge is to provide the diversity of services and community conditions that will serve the rehabilitative and reparative goals of conferencing. 3 notes and 36 references