Community Conferencing in Courts
PiRI works in collaboration with the Monroe County Office of the DA to identify cases going through the town and city courts that would benefit from the possibility of going through a restorative process.
Community Conferencing is a voluntary, victim-centered process that brings together those affected by a criminal incident with the person that caused the harm. Led by trained and certified facilitators, Community Conferencing provides an opportunity to explore what happened, who has been harmed and what needs to be done to make things right.
The process is confidential and ends with an ‘agreement’ that is developed by consensus. This agreement often includes reparation to the victim. After the Community Conference, the agreement is given to the judge and the case returns to court for disposition. The agreement is monitored for compliance.
Anyone can request a Community Conference, though the court has final say as to whether one will be allowed.
PiRI is working with courts in Monroe County with positive results. Our evaluations show that victims rate the experience highly for satisfaction and express that they would recommend the process to others. Those who have caused harm have found that Community Conferencing allows them to make amends for their choices and move on. Overall, those involved in Community Conferencing tell us that ‘justice was served’ through the process.
We are working to make Community Conferencing available to all those who might benefit from it. For more information please contact our Courts Coordinator, Isobel Davies, on 585 753 0790 or courts@pirirochester.org