THE JUDGE SPEAKS — Elkhart Superior Court Judge Stephen Bowers speaks to a class of volunteers at the Center for Community Justice in Elkhart. (Photo provided)

ELKHART — A crime breaks more than just a law.

Property may be damaged and victims may be injured. And regardless of whether the crime is one against property or a person, a community’s sense of safety and security may be fractured, and personal relationships shattered.

The traditional paradigm of incarceration may exact a legal payment for the illegal deed, but that process cannot restore many of the breaches caused by the act. As a result, victims can feel betrayed by the system, and may be left to pick up the pieces by themselves.

Enter restorative justice, a concept that holds offenders personally accountable for their actions while affording them the opportunity to repair rifts with their victims, their community and themselves.

According to the Center for Community Justice website, “It has been shown that by giving people the opportunity to take responsibility for their actions, and involving them in repairing the harm they caused, fractured lives are restored. The realization of this goal creates a safer and more just community.”

Founded in 1984, CCJ administers seven programs rooted in the principles of restorative justice.
Its signal component, the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program, involves two steps.

First, the parties have a conversation, either face to face or through a VORP intermediary, “that allows victims to ask questions about why the offense was committed and to tell the offender how it affected them” and “gives offenders an opportunity to take responsibility for their actions.”

Then the parties enter into a contract “that identifies how the offender will make reparation for his or her actions,” including monetary restitution, community service, a letter of apology and “some other meaningful step the offender can take to address the impact of his/her actions.”

THE PAPERWORK BEHIND THE MINISTRY — Board members for the Center for Community Justice discuss business under a blizzard of paperwork. Pictured, from left, are Steve Braden, board president; Connie Caiceros, executive director; and board members Kristine Osterday and Julie Bird. (Photo provided)

How does a successful application of restorative justice look? Connie Caiceros, CCJ’s executive director since 2011, tells the story:

“We had one juvenile who started getting in a lot of trouble. He was suspended from school and while doing community service, he stole money from a business.

“We sat down with him, his mother, our crew supervisor and the business owner. In talking, he admitted he took her money. He listened to her tell him that was all the money she had and that she was only in her first week of business.

“When her son told his mother what he had done, she started abusing him, using ugly, insulting words right in front of us. We learned at that time that the boy had been raised by his father who taught him to hate his mother. The father suddenly left the country and took the boy’s sister. He had never been in trouble before that.

“We called the court before his next hearing, told them his mother was not equipped to raise him, and asked for counseling. The court sent him and his mom to counseling.

“The boy sold his own clothing and other personal items and paid the woman back in a few weeks.”

Caiceros said, “This is the beauty of restorative justice rather than punitive justice. All the stakeholders are always involved and have power and a voice within a situation to identify how they need to heal from whatever harms have been created.”

For more information, call (574) 295-6149 or visit www.centerforcommunityjustice.org. CCJ is located at 121 S. Third St., Elkhart.