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Facilitating Restorative Group Conferences
Lesson 3: Understanding the Participants
Minnesota Department of Correctionswith the National Institute of Corrections
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Lesson Objectives (1) Identify the impact of crime on victims Learn how to facilitate conferences =
sensitive to and address needs of victims, their families & their supporters
Identify how the offender is impacted by his/her own actions
Understand the dynamics of criminal thinking
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Learn how to facilitate conferences = responsive to the needs of the offender, his/her family & supporters
Understand the impact of crime on the community
Identify members of the community to be involved in the conference
Lesson Objectives (2)
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Activity
Simple, Challenging, Outrageous
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Restorative Conferencing Addresses Shared Interests
OffenderInterests
VictimInterests
CommunityInterests
Victim/Offender/Community
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Zehr’s Restorative Approach Questions
What is the harm? What needs to be done to repair the
harm? Who is responsible for this repair?
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Stakeholder Identification Questions
Who was harmed? Who caused the harm? Who else may have a stake in the
process?
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Understanding Victims: Four Major Impact Areas
Physical Emotional Psychological Financial
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Victims’ Physical Responses
Physical shock, disorientation, numbness Physiological reaction to “fight or flight”
instinct: Adrenaline begins to pump Body relieves itself of excess materials Heart rate increases Hyperventilation, sweating, etc Heightened sensory perception Exhaustion
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1) impact stage: shock, disbelief, denial
2) recoil stage: emotional roller coaster Anger or rage Fear or terror Frustration Grief or sorrow Guilt or self-blame Spiritual trauma Re-experiencing the trauma
3) reconstruction of equilibrium:a new and balanced equilibrium
Victims’ Emotional Reactions
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Severity of the Crisis Reaction = Affected By: Intensity of event Suddenness of occurrence Duration of event Ability to understand what happened Stability of victim/survivor equilibrium at
time of event
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Victims’ Recovery = Affected By: Severity of crisis reaction Ability to understand in retrospect
what happened Stability of victim/survivor equilibrium
following event Supportive environment Validation of experience
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Recovery Issues Getting control of event in
victim/survivor’s mind Working out understanding of event and
redefinition of values Re-establishing new equilibrium/life Re-establishing trust Re-establishing identity and future Re-establishing meaning
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Needs of the Victim
SAFETY & SECURITY
VENT & VALIDATE
REMAIN NON-
JUDGMENTAL
FOLLOW-UP
KEEPPROMISE
S
RETURN
PHONE CALLS PREDICT &
PREPARE
PROBLEMS & PLANS
EMPOWER
TREAT WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT
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Helpful Responses Support victim Reject stereotypes and myths Appreciate natural and formal
support systems Assist in developing new systems &
resources Actively collaborate Examine your own attitudes,
understanding and knowledge
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Tolerate victim’s ambivalence, anger and roller coaster feelings
Allow victim to work through his/her own problems
Do not re-victimize; offer support and information so victim can gain sense of his/her own power
Be realistic in all aspects
Helpful Responses - 2
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Facilitator’s Initial Contact – DO: Listen – allow victim to describe in
his/her own words Provide information about process Clarify your role Maximize victim’s choices Evaluate readiness & appropriateness Provide information about other
assistance
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Facilitator’s Initial Contact – DO NOT:
Sell conferencing or pressure victim Talk about needs of offender Minimize impact Ignore victim’s feelings or concerns Promise things not in your power
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Common Questions Do I have to do this? What will happen if the other party refuses to
cooperate or creates problems? Will the offender be more likely to retaliate if I
do this? What if I choose not to do this? How will this benefit me/why would I do this? How do I explain this to friends or family
members who doubt the process? I feel pressured – can I take some time to
think about it?
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Applying Restorative Theory in Conferencing (See Scenario)
Who were the victims (direct & indirect)?
How was each victim impacted by the crime?
What are the concerns of each victim that should be considered when conducting the conference?
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Understanding Offenders:Excuses (“Officer Krupke”)
What excuses do offenders make for their behavior?
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Cognitive Behavioral Intervention: Restorative Goals
To help the offender change: What they think (content) How they think (process) How they behave (behavior)
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It Is Important to Communicate That:
How and what offenders think affects their behavior
Thinking can be influenced People are capable of change Hard work can change old ways of
thinking and behaving
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Cognitive Behavioral Intervention Requires: Cognitive restructuring - changing “what
we think” Cognitive skills development - changing
“how we think” Behavior strategies - changing “how we
behave”
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Criminal Thinking Distortions
Displacing responsibility Minimization Dehumanization Moral justification Reconstruction of the act Comparison Diffusion of responsibility
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Applying Restorative Theoryin Conferencing (Scenario)
Who are the offenders? What excuses might they use? What should you be attentive to in
preparing for the conference? How might those related to offender
be affected?
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Understanding Community: What Is Community?
People connected: Geographically By relationship By responsibility or interests
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Why Involve Community
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Community’s Role in Conferencing
Address how community is affected Hold offender accountable Support completion of agreements Identify resources to contribute to
agreements
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Community’s Role with Victims Support victims Validate experience of victims Hold offenders directly accountable
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Community’s Role with Offenders Support offenders by looking at
behavior, not individual Help offenders understand how their
behavior affects their community Establish community norms Provide a means for reintegration
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Community’s Rolewith Itself
Conferencing process builds community competency and problem solving - brings community together
Community members share responsibility for dealing with neighborhood issues
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Involving Community: Things to Remember (Setting Up A Conferencing Project) Respect diversity of community and
each community member’s beliefs Diversity shapes the most appropriate
solutions Be inclusive Assure that all views of impacted
community are represented
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Invite participation throughout conferencing process
Encourage community members to become invested in program
Understand that community members also experience shock, disbelief, anger, fear, etc.
Be sensitive
(2)
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Involving Community: Things to Remember (Setting Up a Conference)
Provide sufficient notice Be accessible Speak with community members before
conference to explain process and purpose Involve community in developing outcomes Keep community members informed of
outcomes
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Practice Conference 1Steps in a Conference
Preamble: facilitator intro and role, intro of participants, purpose, agenda, ground rules, (set tone)
Participants’ stories: victim or offender (victim’s choice), the other, supporters of each, and again until done
Repairing the harm: agreement
Closing the conference
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Processing Questions
How did it feel in each of your roles? What did you see that you liked? Was a reasonable agreement reached? What made it difficult to reach
consensus? What helped to move the group along? How could the facilitator have improved
their performance?
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Evaluation of Today
In groups of approximately 5 people, discuss and note:
What worked well for you today? What you would like to see done
differently or added tomorrow?
* A reporter from each group will stay after to report the group’s feedback