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Community Participation in the Justice System:
Restorative Justice Approaches to Conflict What role can the community play in resolving conflicts? Does our current criminal justice system with its emphasis on incarceration provide an adequate response to crime? Does restorative justice offer the possibility of a more meaningful way to respond to disputes? The criminal justice system as it is now structured often limits the role of community members to that of onlookers. As in other aspects of our lives, we come to expect professionals - judges, lawyers, police officers - to fix the problems we encounter in life. In the Law Commission of Canada's video Communities and the Challenge of Conflict, Judge Barry Stuart refers to this as the "9-1-1 mentality". Often people think that they are not qualified or capable of responding to crime and conflict. But as Judge Stuart says in the video, when community members rely solely on experts to fix their problems they miss an opportunity to become active in their communities. The Law Commission of Canada is interested in examining what role the community can play in the process of conflict resolution. As part of its consultations on this project, the Commission, in partnership with the Department of Justice, the Solicitor General of Canada and the Correctional Service of Canada, held a Community Forum on Justice in Ottawa The Commission invited Dr. Nils Christie of Norway and Mr. James Scott to speak about their experience with the justice system. The evening's discussion was audio-taped. Click on the icons to listen to an edited version of the speakers' presentations, as well as some of the questions and answers from the audience members. We welcome your comments and feedback. Dr. Nils Christie - When is Enough Enough? Dr. Christie begins his presentation by presenting data on rates of imprisonment in countries around the world. He makes the claim that the imprisonment rate is a cultural phenomenon. According to Professor Christie, rates of imprisonment in North America present an interesting puzzle. The rate of imprisonment in the United States is roughly 700 prisoners per 100,000 population. In Canada, the rate of imprisonment is roughly 120 prisoners per 100,000 population. Professor Christie asks how could it be possible that two countries so close to each other, with so many common values, have such different rates of imprisonment? Professor Christie argues that rates of imprisonment are not necessarily a reflection of the volume of conflict in a particular society. Rather, rates of imprisonment are more a reflection of how a particular society responds to conflict. To illustrate his point, Professor Christie looked at imprisonment rates in the Soviet Union. In 1950, there were 1,400 prisoners per 100,000 population. In 1989, the imprisonment rate was 353 per 100,000 population. What happened in 1989? Mikhail Gorbachov came to power and his ideas changed the way the USSR responded to conflict. But then following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, rates of imprisonment began to rise again in Russia. According to Professor Christie, the example of the USSR and Russia shows that rates of imprisonment are a reflection of how a particular society chooses to respond to crime. If this is the case, then Professor Christie says that a fundamentally important question becomes "What are the limits on how high the imprisonment rate should be?" Or more simply, "When is enough enough?" This is the question that Professor Christie explores in the remainder of his presentation which is the portion on the audiotape. Mr. James Scott - "Seeing People Differently" Mr. James Scott is the Project Co-ordinator of the Collaborative Justice Project in Ottawa. The Collaborative Justice Project is a pilot project that attempts to demonstrate possible ways of using a restorative approach to respond to serious crime. Mr. Scott says that the strength of a restorative process is that it challenges us to "see people differently". He asks the audience to imagine how they would respond to a drunk driver who kills someone in a collision. We might have one answer if we didn't know the driver, and another if the driver was our father, our grandfather or a friend. The difference, of course, is that we have intimate knowledge of our relatives and friends. We know that their acts may cause serious harm to others, and that they should be held responsible for their actions, but they are not bad people. By bringing people together to talk about conflict, restorative justice helps us to "see people differently". It helps put a human face on crime. Mr. Scott begins with an overview of his vision of restorative justice. Following this, he describes some examples of restorative justice in practice. He concludes by addressing some challenges his program faces on a daily basis. Questions and Answers Following the presentations, audience members were invited make comments and ask questions.
Dr. Nils Christie Dr. Nils Christie is a Professor of Criminology in the Faculty of Law at the University of Oslo. He is the author of numerous scientific articles and twelve books, some of which are published in several languages. Among them are The Limits of Pain and Crime Control as Industry: Towards Gulags, Western Style which is now in its fourth edition. Dr. Christie's particular interest has been in analysing the growth of imprisonment in industrialised nations. He has documented the alarming expansion of the number of prisoners in recent years, especially in Russia and the United States. Dr. Christie asserts that crime control, not crime itself, is the real danger of the future.
Mr. James Scott Mr. James Scott was born and raised in Toronto where he graduated from Victoria University with a BA and from Emmanuel College with a Masters of Divinity. Reverend Scott was ordained by the United Church of Canada in 1976 and served in pastoral ministry in Saskatchewan from 1976-80. Currently, Mr. Scott is the Project Co-ordinator of the Collaborative Justice Project in Ottawa, a 2 ½ - year pilot project which is demonstrating how restorative approaches, through collaborative work with victims, accused persons and community members, can be applied in cases of serious crimes.
Webcast on Close Personal Relationships Between Adults Broadcast January 31, 2001 Email the Law Commission at Info@lcc.gc.ca.
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