Free Restorative Justice Training Offered in April

The Williams Lake Community Council for Restorative Justice (WLCCRJ) will be offering a free weekend of training on how to facilitate restorative justice circles from April 11–13.

Restorative justice circles are an alternative measure of the justice system that involves offenders, victims, and support people to sit together facing each other, and facilitate a conversation about the events before and after a crime.

The conversations discuss anything from what events led to the offender committing a crime to why that specific offense, as well as the effects it has had on the victims’ lives.

Deborah Pickering, of the WLCCRJ says the experience is “quite impactful.”

“Everybody gets a chance to talk. People are feeling heightened emotions when they enter, but just hearing those stories has a big impact on both sides. For the offender hearing how their actions affected other people, and for the victims to hear from this person why they did what they did… It often creates between the parties, and the victim after hearing the offender’s story may  find that actually this person is not a bad person.”

Pickering says there is a “sense of relief” after hearing the stories, and believes restorative justice circles have a “deeper impact than in court”.

“In court, offenders don’t have to say anything if they speak at all, and they don’t have to face the person they affected,” Pickering says. “The victims don’t, or rarely, get a voice. So in restorative justice circles, we talk about how everybody was affected and how we’re going to make amends for that.”

“It’s quite a big relief on everybody, and  especially young offenders will realize the cause and effect of things that harmed these people.”

The WLCCRJ offers the training for restorative justice circles twice a year. It is free of charge across the weekend. Pickering says snacks and beverages are provided.

To sign up for the training weekend and to learn more visit the WLCCRJ website.