The mission of Justiceworks, Ltd. is to foster forms of justice that strengthen and heal the communities of Portage County.
The Rule of Law: Foundation for Communities of Opportunity and Equity
President John F. Kennedy said “by strengthening the rule of law we strengthen freedom and justice.” The May 1, 2008, 50th anniversary theme for Law Day is The Rule of Law: Foundation for Communities of Opportunity and Equity. We all have a stake in the rule of law, and we all can do our part to strengthen it. The rule of law refers to a system of self-government with a strong and accessible legal process. Join in the various activities across our community to contribute to the discussion.
Corrections Policy Petition
Please sign our Petition in Support of a Corrections Policy to Reduce Recidivism Rate of Crime in Portage County by sending your name and address to Justiceworks, Ltd. 1547 Strongs Avenue, Stevens Point, WI 54481, by calling 344-3677 or e-mail at petition@Justiceworksltd.org. (online petition sign-ups will be available soon). The petition is a non-binding advisory petition for the purpose of educating community members and decision-makers as to the importance of adopting a corrections policy that supports the reduction of crime in Portage County. Please feel free to collect signatures in support of the petition and return the petition and signature sheets including name and addresses to the Justiceworks office.
About Justiceworks
Justiceworks is a non-profit community justice organization dedicated to the advancement of programs and practices that secure right relationships between offenders, victims, and their communities. The mission of Justiceworks, Ltd. is to foster forms of restorative justice that strengthen and heal the communities of Portage County. The criminal justice system has a nationally recognized imbalance in its delivery of justice evidenced by an increased reliance on incarceration, reduced resources for offender intervention, and growing citizen dissatisfaction and distrust of the system. Driven by the recognition that we need better opportunities to “right” relationships and promote healing when harm has occurred, Justiceworks seeks to incorporate evidence-based practices into traditional responses of the justice system for more effective justice outcomes. “Rightness” in relationships implies safe, equitable, and respectful treatment for all with regard for individual differences and the need to repair harms suffered.
What is "Restorative Justice"?
Restorative Justice is a new way of thinking about crime and criminal justice.
Restorative Justice emphasizes the ways in which crime hurts relationships between people who live in a community. Crime is seen as something done against a victim and the community—not simply as a violation against the state. Crime may be any wrong, even a non-criminal offense, that weakens relationships between people or harms community living. In Restorative Justice, the offender becomes accountable to those he or she has harmed. Justice is not only given to offenders, but it is done for victims.
Expanded role for victims.
Restorative Justice allows the voices of victims to be heard. Crime victims are given more chances to regain their personal power. Many victims say that they tend to feel left out of their own cases in the traditional justice system. Victims often need to speak their feelings. Restorative Justice gives victims more opportunities to be involved to decide how their needs can best be met.
Community participation.
Restorative Justice encourages active participation by the victim, the offender and the community to repair the fabric of community peace. The entire community is responsible for supporting and assisting victims, holding offenders accountable and helping offenders to make amends.
Communities have the right to feel safe and secure. Restorative Justice helps communities build their sense of safety by having community members be active in peacemaking.
Offender’s involvement
Restorative Justice has offenders taking personal responsibility for their actions and then actively working to repair the harm that they have caused to victims and communities.
Making things right.
For many offenders, going to jail may seem a lot easier than being accountable to their victims. Offenders learn about how they have personally harmed victims and can then work to make real amends to the victim and the community.
Principles of Restorative Justice
- Crime hurts victims, communities and offenders.
- All parties should be a part of the response to crime, including the offender, the community, and the victim if he or she wishes.
- The victim is central to deciding how to repair the harm.
- Accountability for the offender means accepting responsibility and repairing the harm done.
- The community makes sure that the laws which guide our behavior are carried out in ways which are responsive to our different cultures and backgrounds, whether racial, ethnic, geographic, religious, economic, age, abilities, family status, sexual orientation and other backgrounds—and all are given equal protection and due process.
- Crime is seen as an act against another person or the community, rather than an act against the state. The state (or the government) wants to have the problem resolved, but it is not the main player in solving it. It is the offender who takes the personal responsibility for making things right with the victim and the community—not the state.
- Restoration or repairing the harm replaces punishment for its own sake. Restitution would become the rule—not the exception.
- Results are measured by how much repair has been done rather than by how much punishment was inflicted.
- Controlling crime is mainly for the community and its members. The criminal justice system can really only have a small affect on the level of crime because it basically can only respond after a crime occurs.
- Offenders are definitely accountable for their individual choices, but communities are also accountable for the conditions which may exist that contribute to crime.
Reproduced with permission by the Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking School of Social Work, University of Minnesota.