Durham Prison Pipeline: We Need Restorative Justice

I don't know how many times I have stood next to a young African American man as he was discarded by our society into the prison pipeline. Was I a compassionate guide through a tragic system, or a complicit cog in the wheel of injustice? Probably both. I am trying to be more clear about the problem, and learn about potential remedies.

Here are some statistics about charges in Durham in April.

There were 3,272 charges brought in Durham in the Month of April 2013. 30% of these charges were issued to people identified as white, 70% of these charges were issued to people of color.

136 adult charges were issued to people 18 or younger. There were 9 charges issued to 16 year olds, 44 charges issued to 17 year olds, and 83 charges issued to 18 year olds. 20% of these children were white, and 80% were children of color. I do not have data on the number of juveniles brought into our system. That information is protected and not public.

281 charges were issued for simple possession of drugs, 88% were to people of color.

40 people were charged with resisting arrest, which usually indicates an officer who has lost patience with a suspect and is punishing them. Sometimes called 'contempt of cop' charges, 93% of those people charged in April were people of color.

828 charges were issued for no operators license or driving while license revoked, 85% of those charges were to people of color. People without lawful status are not allowed to get drivers licenses and are regularly stopped for having no license.

Because of the privacy associated with our juvenile system, I do not have the numbers for children under the age of sixteen brought into our system. I also do not have the numbers for suspensions in our schools based on race.

I have learned that nationally the statistics show that rates of suspension are racially disproportionate, and kids are suspended as a first, rather than a last resort; despite studies that show remaining in school is essential to avoiding gang affiliation and jail. (http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/resources/projects/center-for-civil-rights-remedies/school-to-prison-folder/summary-reports/out-of-school-off-track-reports-by-district )
Restorative Justice

On Monday, I went to the beautiful Duke campus in the York reading room of the Divinity School to hear my friends (Professor) Douglas Campbell and (Dr.) Amy Elliot share information from their trip to New Zealand where they learned how that country has replaced its juvenile system with Restorative Justice practices. When they passed the "Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act" in 1989, the number of cases appearing in Juvenile Court dropped 80%.

This shifted the focus of the system from proving guilt and imposing punishment, to finding ways to bring young offenders together with their families and the victims of their crime to engage in "Family Group Conferencing."  The studies show that victims appreciate having more participation in the process, and offenders are less likely to re-offend when they have conferenced with the victim in the presence of their families.

The "Cautioning Program" run by the police, identifies the appropriate diversion for the child in conflict with the law, and helps repair the harm to the victims while involving the families of victim and offender.

As a student of Restorative Justice, I have learned that similar Restorative Justice practices have been used successfully in Canada, Australia, England, and in states around the United States.

Restorative Justice is an approach to criminal conduct that addresses victims’ harms and needs, holds offenders accountable to put right those harms, and involves victims, offenders and communities in this process.

Criminal Justice System	Restorative Justice
Crime is a violation of the law and the State	Crime is a violation of people, connected in relationships
Violations create guilt	Violations create obligations
Justice requires the State to determine blame (guilt) and impose pain (punishment)	Justice involves victims, offenders, and community members in an effort to put things right
Central Focus: offenders getting what they deserve	Central focus: victim healing, offender responsibility for repairing harm
Asks: What laws have been broken, who did it, what do they deserve	Asks: Who has been hurt, what are their needs, whose obligation is to repair harm?
Adversarial system of winners and losers	Collaborative processes and consensual outcomes
Determines guilt, issues punishment	Supports victims, looks at root causes of crime, finds healing for victims and offenders, supporting both

 

Underlying restorative justice is a vision of interconnectedness. We are all connected with each other in a web of relationships. When the web is disrupted by acts of crime, what is needed is healing processes which repair harm and hold people accountable. The current criminal justice system causes more harm, more disruptions to the web, by punishment and pain for perpetrators, and isolation for victims. Restorative Justice practices are characterized by a fundamental respect in the human dignity of every person, and their healthy inclusion in our community.

There are other places where restorative justice pre-charge diversion programs (cautionary/warning programs) are successful in taking care of our children rather than discarding them. (http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/yj-jj/res-rech/discre/descript/alt-rech.html#use )  My friend and colleague Professor Jon Powell has set up a similar program in the Wake County School system nearby, (http://law.campbell.edu/page.cfm?id=332&n=jon-powell ) There are similar programs in Oakland. (http://www.ousd.k12.ca.us/restorativejustice ). Restorative justice practices have been spectacularly successful in Northern Ireland. (http://www.youthjusticeagencyni.gov.uk/youth_conference_service/articles/a_restorative_justice_system_for_young_offenders_in_northern_ireland/ )

I am presently conducting pre-conference interviews preparing the victims and the offender for a family group conference. I am preparing to teach a Restorative Justice class at Guilford this summer. And I am imagining a day when there will be a RJ office in the Court house where victims can be involved in the process, and the focus can be on healing their harm.