Restorative Justice
Restorative Justice brings together people involved in and affected by a crime. They meet face-to-face to identify and repair the harm caused by crime. Restorative Justice Circles focus on participation. Everyone involved shares their views and works together to build a plan to make things right.
City programs work to increase community safety and restore balance after crime.
What is it used for?
Restorative Justice addresses crimes committed by youth and young adults, ages 10-22. We handle petty, misdemeanor and felony level offenses, with every referral considered individually.
Common types of incidents accepted:
- Person-to-person: fighting, harassment, assault, interference with authorities, reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct
- Property related: vandalism, trespassing, graffiti, fire violations, arson
- Theft: stealing from a business or person, shoplifting, dine-n-dash
- Weapons based charges: menacing, discharging, possession, throwing missiles
Types of incidents not accepted:
- Substance abuse offenses
- Domestic violence/sexual assault
- Traffic offenses
- Status offenses: truancy, runaway youth, curfew violations, underage consumption
Why should I use it?
In Restorative Justice Circles every voice matters, and yours can too.
For people harmed or affected by crime:
- Support your voice, needs and perspective
- Help you gain clarity, closure and greater sense of safety
- Allow you to make specific requests about what you need to move forward
For people who caused harm:
- Re-build your self-respect by working to put things right
- Increase your understanding about how your choices affect others
- Give you new skills and awareness to make better choices in the future
For our community:
- Include the community in exploring harm caused by crime and give community members a voice in the justice process
- Give community members the opportunity to support the victim's healing and the offender's accountability and reintegration into the community
Did you know?
Most (96-100%) of our participants said they were happy with their experience. The completion rate of the responsible young people participating in the programs has been about 90-92%. Youth who participate in City programs have had statistically significant changes in important protective factors (self-esteem, decision making, locus of control, connection to family and community, accountability).
Types of Restorative Justice
Restorative Justice makes neighborhoods safer by giving victims and community a voice and keeping young people out of the criminal justice system.
Individual Circles
City Restorative Justice circles programs focus on a specific incident or crime. Individuals harmed by crime have choices about their participation:
- Direct participation in the circle
- Personal representative (nominate a friend or loved one to represent you)
- Be interviewed by a program volunteer who will represent you in the Circle
- Write a statement about your experience to be read aloud in the Circle, including asking questions you may have
- No participation
- People harmed by crime who choose not to participate can still receive support services from City staff such as listening and coaching
If you choose none of the options above, City programs will provide a Victim Surrogate to stand in during the Circle.
Group Circles
City large group restorative process addresses multiple cases of the same type of crime. The Restore program addresses the harms of shoplifting across the community and was developed here in Fort Collins.
In Restore, young people who shoplifted and their support people come together to learn how shoplifting affects different aspects of the community.
There are three parts:
- Community impact panel: speakers share about impact
- Circles: Young people and their support share their own stories in a small group setting with others
- Contract development: In the small group, young people make contract choices on how to repair the harm of shoplifting
- One-two months later: Young people and their supports return for a completion circle
FAQ for Everyone
What's the restorative Circle like?
Restorative Justice circles take place in one of City office meeting rooms. Chairs are set up in a large circle and each person has a designated seat. Volunteer facilitators guide the group in taking turns listening and sharing with one another.
The people in the Circle are:
- Two volunteer facilitators
- Person(s) harmed and affected by the crime, and their support people or representative
- Youth/young adult(s) responsible for the harm and their parent/guardian
- Law enforcement representative (most often a trained School Resource Officer)
- Adult community volunteer
- Peer community volunteer
There are Ground Rules for every Restorative circle and the volunteer facilitators uphold them.
The City's restorative approach balances concern for the needs of people harmed and affected by crime, their support people, youth and young adults taking responsibility, their families and the community members.
Who has to know about this? Is it confidential?
The City asks all participants in a restorative circle to respect each others' privacy by not sharing personally identifiable information or what happens in the circle except with the participants in the circle and close family who need to know in order to support the outcome. All participants are required to sign a consent form agreeing to this. The City guarantees the confidentiality of staff and volunteers.
The agreement resulting from the Restorative Justice circle is not confidential and will be shared with referring agencies as well as others participating in the circle. The responsible party's participation and attendance in program activities is also shared with the referring agency.
We must report statements about harm to children under 18, plans to commit serious crimes, or plans to hurt yourself or others.
What is a strengths-based approach? Why does it matter in a circle?
The City believes that repairing harm, using a person's strengths, re-builds self-respect and supports sustainable behavior change in people. Restorative circles increase community safety by seeing people holistically; every person is more than their worst choice. Youth and young adults in City programs fill out a strengths survey when they start. This information is shared in the circle and used to build their plan.
Talking about people's individual skills and strengths does not mean that they are any less responsible for the harm that they caused. Research now shows that using a person's strength in repairing harm creates better outcomes; City programs use evidence based best practices.
What's the accountability contract and how does it work?
The second part of the Restorative Justice circle is when the group works together to create an accountability contract for every responsible youth/young adult present. This document is a detailed plan about how the harms will be repaired and typically takes between 20-30 hours to complete. Each accountability contract includes giving back/restoration to:
- Harmed and affected people: Any specific requests made by the person harmed are included and ideas that come up in the circle can be added. Restitution needs are heard during the initial meetings and considered on an individual basis
- Community: Giving back to community can be completed at any non-profit organization (must have a 501C3 status) or neighborhood service (no family relations) like activities that supports elders or people living with disabilities. City staff can provide a list of community resources
- Family and self: Youth and young adults repair harm with their families in creative ways that rebuild communication and help mend trust. Every young person coming into City programs goes through a mental health screening and counseling can be a program requirement (an intake and three sessions)
Every plan has a deadline, usually 6-8 weeks. All participants sign the final plan. A completion circle is scheduled near the contract deadline and everyone involved is invited back to review the completed accountability contract items. The focus of that circle is sharing learning reflections and reintegration, so that everyone can move forward from the incident.
Who are the volunteer facilitators? What training do they have?
Restorative Justice volunteers are City of Fort Collins volunteers who have completed a criminal background check and work in teams of two. Every volunteer facilitator is required to complete a 20-hour training certificate, and 20 additional hours of mentorship and training with City programs.
FAQ for Harmed Party
What are my options for participating in the program?
People harmed by crime have a variety of options for participation or nonparticipation in a Restorative Justice circle. You can still access other victim services even if you join restorative justice.
Participation is completely optional for a harmed person. If the harmed person does not want to participate, for whatever reason, it will not remove Restorative Justice as an option for the youth who caused harm.
If a harmed person wants to participate, they can choose the level of participation.
City programs offer a variety of options:
- Direct participation in the circle
- No participation: includes various notification options, if requested
- Surrogate representation in the circle (nominate a loved one or use one of City program volunteers)
- Write a statement about your experience to be read aloud in the circle
If continued negative interaction with the responsible person is the reason for not participating, please share this with the referring agency or the Restorative Justice provider so they can take appropriate action.
How do I get restitution?
Restitution is requested through the referring agency, typically the courts. It is then a requirement of the courts that the responsible person complete the Restorative Justice program and pay restitution.
RePay Program
Youth work to earn restitution. People affected by crime get paid.
The RePay Program helps youth in Restorative Justice programs pay victim restitution. Youth do community service work to earn money from this restitution fund. It is for youth unable to find paid work due to age or other limitations. When they complete the service work, the restitution fund then pays the victim based on the hours worked by the youth. (youth earns minimum hourly wage for the restitution) The youth can earn their own restitution, relieving financial pressure on parents and assuring the victim receives their restitution. This also keeps youth from remaining in the justice system due to inability to pay restitution. The program is funded with donations and program fees.
FAQ for Responsible Party
What if my parent can't participate?
If your parent cannot participate, please discuss this with the Restorative Justice coordinator or your facilitator. With parent permission, another adult family member can take their place. There are a range of options, please bring this up as early as possible with your Restorative Justice contact.
Will I have a record if I successfully complete the Restorative Justice process?
Most of the time, the answer is "no."
However, the answer to this question depends on many factors, including who referred your case, the status of the referral (diversion, court-referred, officer referred). Because the answer is dependent on many factors, please discuss this with the restorative justice coordinator to get an accurate answer.