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Good morning-- I want to offer my sincerest and warmest thanks to
members of this community who have shared their thoughts; hopes, fears and
vision for justice that restores in Moscow and beyond. Comments and
questions have ranged for suggestions on community meetings and developing
community ownership of restorative justice; to suggestions for things some
would like to see us publish on the web to help solving a technical
problem with our home page (which I forwarded to our webmaster because I
am pretty helpless in that arena).
Restorative justice is based upon a core set of principles and values
which are clearly enhanced, perhaps dependent upon a strong sense of
community. Idaho's reputation is one of tough on crime. Perhaps this is
accurate, but it feels as though there is also a very strong sense
of community. From my earliest days living on the Palouse people have said
that if restorative justice is going to win deep appeal anywhere in Idaho
than Moscow and Latah County are likely to be where it happen. Our
experience talking with community members is that there is what might be
called wide interest (it sounds appealing, but people still have lots of
questions). It is our hope that over the next period of time we can come
build upon the wide appeal and develop what might be labeled a deep
appeal where members of the community are actively participating in
healing the harm of crime and conflict.
There is often a perception that justice (or injustice) only directly
involves victims, offenders and those whose livelihoods are dependent on
enforcing laws. One look at the state budget shows one clear and profound
way where every taxpayer is deeply effected by corrections. One advocate
of restorative justice has talked in depth regarding the amount of money
we spend locking people up each year. He suggests for the same amount of
money we could be sending students to some very high quality colleges.
Ultimately it will come down to the average person living within our
community. Do we (you) want to invest in education and a future of
unlimited hope, or do we want to continue feeding untold billions into a
system which breeds bitterness for victims and offenders?
Now I would like to address some of the direct comments and
suggestions. Some asked if we could/ would be willing to create a
survey or questionnaire (similar to what is now on-line) but specific to
this area. The answer is yes, but we want to make sure the right questions
are being asked. Right now there we lack a consensus over what we might
want to measure, so the dialogue likely needs to continue for at least a
while longer. Which means it is important for people to continue sharing
what is important and more about your vision of what restorative justice
means to you. One of the hot buzzwords in the wider restorative justice
community is inclusion. We want to see restorative justice be shaped in a
way where people of all age, gender, race, religion, educational and
professional background, economic status are heard not only included in
the process, but are empowered to make restorative justice work in their
community.
All of which brings me back to the question of community. There is no
one right answer to what is community. A community can be a city, county,
state, neighborhood, school district or individual school, an ethnic
community, a religious community, etc.... The important thing is to
respect the diversity and find a way to empower all the voices in a
community.
It is important for restorative justice to build from a ground level
and become a proactive process which works to heal before a situation gets
out of hand. Research has suggested that,. for various reasons, only
40% of all crime are reported to the legal authorities. People are making
a choice not to involve the police in certain conflicts. However, rather
than engaging in a healing process they are allowing incidents to build.
Often they simmer to the point that by the time the police become involved
the last thing on anyone's mind is healing. What does this mean to the
average community member? The paradigm shift of restorative justice begins
with you. Each of us needs to make a conscience choice in how we respond
to crime or conflict. It simply is not realistic to expect the police,
courts, and politicians to transform all of their beliefs while the
community continues to view justice in a retributive paradigm. Our society
has fallen into a way of thinking where we expect the state to solve most
of our problems for us (some called this our real 911 crisis). It is said
that conflict is a gift from God and we should embrace every chance which
presents itself for our community to grow.
Now back to the practical questions which have been asked. Yes we are
willing to meet with large or small groups in the community to do
education programs, or we can meet individually if that works better for
you. We have videos, books, and other resources to share.
One suggestion has been that we might bring together a community
round table to talk about how we should proceed. Another suggestion
has been for a Community task force (which could come from a round
table). Either one or both suggestions are appealing, but it feels like we
need to allow more dialogue before taking that next step.
I look forward to continued dialogue with those who have contacted us
and welcome comments from those pondering where all of this is leading. I
can be reached at this email or (208) 882-5416.
Tony
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