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Justice Fellowship JUSTICE FELLOWSHIP The2008 Restorative Justice Resource Guide Changing the Way America Responds to Crime . A criminal justice system in need of reform . Offenders and victims in need of direction and healing . A community of Christians with a concept of justice that restores . © 2008 Prison Fellowship 44180 Riverside Parkway Lansdowne, VA 20176 (703) 478-0100 www.pfm.org All rights reserved. May not be reproduced without permission. Printed in the U.S.A. Cover photo: D. B. King Table of Contents Table of Contents Introduction to Justice Fellowship..................................................................... 1 Introduction to Restorative Justice .................................................................... 5 Victim Services .............................................................................................. 11 National Victim Emergency Help and Support .............................................. 12 National Victim Advocates........................................................................... 14 National Directories of Victim Services......................................................... 16 Victim-Offender Mediation Services................................................................. 17 National Victim-Offender Mediation Organizations ....................................... 18 State-by-State Victim-Offender Mediation Services ........................................ 19 Community Services....................................................................................... 37 National Community Resources ................................................................... 38 Appendix 1: Restorative Justice Advocacy Groups ........................................... 45 Appendix 2: Restorative Justice Recommended Reading................................... 50 Introduction to Justice Fellowship Introduction to Justice Fellowship About Justice Fellowship Justice Fellowship is the criminal justice reform arm of PFM, a nonprofit organization founded by former Watergate felon Charles Colson. Since its inception in 1983, Justice Fellowship has worked to change the way America responds to crime by collaborating closely with policymakers at both the state and the federal levels to craft a practical and efficient system of justice. Advocating primarily the principles of restorative justice, Justice Fellowship also equips Christian leaders to be agents of change and assists them in promoting the practices of restorative justice within their communities. Apart from providing guidance and direction in policy reforms, Justice Fellowship also functions as a clearinghouse of resources on multiple topics relating to criminal justice reform. From ex-offender reentry to prison rape, from sentencing reform to inmate health, Justice Fellowship offers a wide variety of resources for many key issues. The Issues Justice Fellowship is involved in several reform initiatives covering a wide spectrum of the justice system. The in-prison reform issues focus primarily on treatment of the incarcerated and the provision of rehabilitation programs. These involve the issues of inmate health and mental health, prison rape, prison violence, juveniles and women in prison, prison work, prison programs and strengthening families of the incarcerated. Most important, Justice Fellowship primarily advocates for reform that ensures inmates receive better preparation to live healthy, productive, law-abiding lives after their release. Justice Fellowship promotes re-entry reform issues such as job training, 1 Introduction to Justice Fellowship housing, mental-health and substance-abuse treatment, strengthening families, and addresses other barriers to reentry, such as felony disenfranchisement. Justice Fellowship also actively promotes reforms in other areas, including sentencing. Issues such as drug policy disparity, protecting the innocent, fairness in sentencing, and the abolition of mandatory minimum sentencing are particularly covered. Additionally, Justice Fellowship advocates for religious freedom within corrections and supports faith-based initiatives that provide needed services to prisons. Resources The Justice Fellowship website (www.pfm.org) is home to a variety of resources on criminal justice reform, particularly ex-offender reentry and restorative justice. Although Justice Fellowship does not directly provide restorative justice programs and services, the website is full of information on the principles and practices of restorative justice as well as state and local organizations that provide restorative solutions for victims and offenders. Another available resource is the Justice eReport, a free e-newsletter. This publication offers information on multiple hot topics within the criminal justice community and provides a variety of helpful resources. The Justice eReport is authored by Pat Nolan, the vice-president of Justice Fellowship. About the Vice-President The work of Justice Fellowship is directed by Pat Nolan, who served in the California State Assembly for 15 years, four of those as the Assembly Republican Leader. Targeted for prosecution for a campaign contribution he accepted, which was later revealed to be part of an FBI sting. Pat spent 29 months in federal custody upon pleading guilty to one count of racketeering. Upon his release, he was asked to head up Justice Fellowship and still remains dedicated to reforming the criminal justice system. Pat Nolan currently serves on the nine-member U.S. Prison Rape Elimination Commission, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert. Nolan also serves on the National Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons and on Governor Schwarzenegger’s California Strike Team on prison reform. For a complete biography on Mr. Nolan, please visit the “about staff” portion of our website. 2 Introduction to Justice Fellowship Contact For more information about Justice Fellowship or restorative justice, please visit the website at www.pfm.org. Or you may contact us at: 44180 Riverside Parkway Phone: 703-554-8569 Lansdowne, VA 20176 Fax: 703-554-8658 “Real justice isn't only about catching the bad guy. It's also about restoring the innocent who have suffered at his hands.” —Chuck Colson 3 Blank page Introduction to Restorative Justice Introduction to Restorative Justice The Problem There is no doubt that America’s criminal justice system is failing. With an estimated 2.2 million men and women currently (2007) behind bars and an additional 4.1 million on probation or parole, America sustains the world’s highest incarceration rate. In fact, one out of every 32 Americans is under the direct jurisdiction of our criminal justice system. And the U.S. Department of Justice continues to be one of the fastest-growing sectors of government spending.1 This large investment in our prisons might be justified if the inmates were reformed in both heart and habits upon release. But prisons remain unsuccessful in rehabilitating those within their walls. Inmates do not “graduate” from prison transformed into law-abiding citizens, but rather, in most cases, as future criminals. Of the more than 700,000 inmates being released this year, society can expect more than two-thirds (67%) of them to be rearrested and more than half to end up back behind bars (or “recidivate”). Prisons seem to function more as a revolving door of crime than as institutions furthering public safety. Yet even more disturbing than our failing prison system is our actual concept of “justice,” which has been rooted in giving offenders “what they deserve” (retributive) rather than healing the wounds inflicted by crime (restorative) or exploring the factors that led to crime. Our current system views crime solely as an offense against the state (law breaking), completely marginalizing the victims of crime in the process. Consequently, victims are left out in the cold while “justice” is served, and offenders are required to merely serve time instead of taking responsibility for their actions and making things right with those they harmed. We must ask ourselves why we continue to expand a system that ignores the needs of victims, releases prisoners who are more dangerous than before they entered prison, fails to make our communities safer, and consumes an ever 5 Introduction to Restorative Justice increasing portion of our tax dollars ($60 billion in 2006 alone). Einstein once said that to repeat a process and expect the results to be different is insanity. How true is that of our justice system? The Solution—Restoring Justice Fortunately, there is a smarter way to deal with crime—by using a system that restores. Restorative justice is not merely a program, but is instead a shift in our approach to crime. While the current justice system centers on the legal aspects of crime by asking three questions—What law was broken? Who did it? How should the person be punished?—restorative justice focuses on the injured victim as well as the broken law by asking: How has the victim been injured? Who is responsible? What should the offender do to make things right?2 Crime is not merely an offense against the state, and justice is more than punishment. True justice seeks to heal the effects of crime while keeping offenders accountable for their actions and the harm they caused. In the process, offenders learn responsibility, an essential factor of a successful life as a law-abiding citizen upon release. Restorative Justice—Benefits for the Victim, Offender and Community Restorative justice offers essential
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