“Thank you for stealing that makeup”: Restorative Justice Analysis of Community Justice Forum in Canada.

• In Event: Restorative Justice in Schools and Communities

Abstract

Community Justice Forum, popularly known as CJF, is a script-based model of restorative justice practiced in many countries, including Australia, Canada, UK, and USA. Grounded in restorative justice principles, CJF offers a platform for victims and offenders, plus their family members and supporters, to deal with the fallout of disputes and crimes. In the greater Vancouver area, RCMP’s detachments in Surrey, North Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond and Coquitlam have a restorative justice program. Among them, Richmond RCMP, in collaboration with Touchstone Family Association, use the CJF model in their restorative justice practice when suitable. Funded by the City of Richmond, Touchstone Family Association has been operating the restorative justice program since 2004. This study explores how the CJF model of restorative justice practice is operationalized in British Columbia. Nine in-depth qualitative interviews employed to understand the impact CJF are analyzed with NVivo 10 software. Four overarching themes: 1) CJF Process, 2) RJ Values, 3) Common Issues, and 4) CJF for Future are discussed in this study. The nature of CJF’s restorative justice is analysed through Zehr’s RJ Spectrum. It finds the CJF process to be mostly restorative in nature. The paper concludes with limitations, challenges and implications for future research.

Authors

• M. Asadullah, Simon Fraser University

• Asia McLean, Simon Fraser University