Program helps young Aboriginals get on right track

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Justice Minister Anne McLellan tabled new legislation on Feb. 5 that places a strong emphasis on crime prevention and rehabilitation. Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, many of those who commit non-violent offences will be diverted from the criminal justice system into community-based programs.

Though some think the youth justice system is soft on crime, a recent study by the United States department of Justice shows that Canada jails more of its young people than any other Western country. Advocates of youth justice reform say that placing kids who run afoul of the law in custody is not solving the problem.

Organizers at the Prince George Urban Aboriginal Justice Society agree.

Three years ago, the organization set up the Youth Diversion Program to help 12- to 17-year-old Aboriginal people charged with a first offence get back on the right track.

The program is based on a simple concept: crime inflicts harm and justice should repair that harm. This is one of the main principles of "restorative justice," an approach that looks at the root causes of criminal behavior and tries to repair the relationship between the offender and the victim.

Participants in the program are referred by a Crown counsel or youth probation officer. To be eligible, a teen must admit responsibility for the offence and be willing to make amends. The first step is for the young person to recognize the harm they have caused, said program co-ordinator Morgan Jamieson. "[They] really need to understand that there are victims."

Getting young people to realize this is not always easy, she admits. When the offence is committed against a person, the victim is obvious. But in cases involving shoplifting, for example, there is often a perception that nobody gets hurt.

Jamieson points out that one of the results of petty theft is the stereotyping of young Aboriginal people.

"Every time you walk down the supermarket aisle and find the sales clerk lurking behind to make sure you're not stealing anything," she explains, "it goes to show that the community as a whole is the victim of the crime."

The program tries to find a solution to the cases it handles by forming a "resolution circle." The teen and their parent or guardian, the RCMP, an Elder from the Aboriginal community, as well as the victim and their family and friends are invited to participate. The goal is to create an environment in which there is no benefit to lie and no punishment for telling the truth and where those involved in the process can come up with ways to repair the damage done.

"The resolution circle is very tough," said Jamieson "Questions are asked that would never have been asked in court." The teen is encouraged to talk about problems they may be having at home and about what they were thinking when they committed the offence. They are also asked about where they see themselves several years down the road. "There's a lot of soul searching going on. A lot of kids and volunteers end up in tears," she said.

Because the program specifically serves Aboriginal youth, it is sensitive to their cultural needs and traditional ceremonies are included in the resolution circle. A talking stick is used to encourage the person speaking to freely share his or her thoughts and to prevent others from interrupting. Often a prayer is said and a smudging ceremony is performed before the circle gets underway. The ceremony is meant to summon the spirits to give those involved clarity and wisdom.

The Youth Diversion Program has worked well in the Prince George community.

So far, about 89 per cent of the teens that completed the diversion program have managed to steer clear of crime. But statistics like this do not fully reflect the impact the program has had on its clients, said Jamieson.

"We had a girl who moved here from a long way away, lost everything," Jamieson recalls.

Less than a year before she was caught shoplifting, her father had died. In the resolution circle, the irl talked about her feelings of loss and confusion and came up with a list of things she wanted to do to make things right. And she followed through with it. She wrote a letter of apology, paid for the things she stole and served her community hours. Then she apologized to her younger brother and sister for the stress she had caused and the bad example she had set.

A couple weeks after completing the program, the girl returned to get help writing her resumé. "And before she left, she turned around and gave me a big hug," said Jamieson, "and I was in tears."