Doug McPhee
Cranbrook and District Restorative Justice Society (CDRJS)
Cranbrook and District Restorative Justice Society (CDRJS) provides Court Diversion (referred by RCMP or Crown) through Restorative Justice for individuals who have been affected by crime in the community and are prepared to take responsibility for the harm cause to others.
Restitution with the community and with those who have been harmed is determined by those directly affected. The person responsible for the act is encouraged to rebuild their relationships and contribute to the community in a manner in which they will gain positive reinforcement from that contribution.
Often those harmed want to know why they were victimized and whether they will be safe in the future. Agreements may contain elements of financial compensation, a formal apology and demonstrations of good will to support the concepts of forgiveness, hope and assurances of a positive direction for future behavior, “lesson learned”.
The outcome of a Restorative Justice is confidential. The contributions made by the person responsible for the harm are also confidential.
In addition to the value of restoring relationships and addressing the harm done, Restorative Justice is time-effective, cost-effective and has significant success. The recent data presented by the RCMP (“E: Division RCMP: Restorative Justice Referral Guide”) indicates that the average cost for referrals to court are $3396 per case, as compared with $1677 for diversion to Restorative Justice. The average time for file completion through court is 4.5 months; 2 months through Restorative Justice. 60% of recommended charges result in conviction in the court system and 70% of referrals successfully completed through Restorative Justice.
CDRJS, as a society, has been serving the district and community since 2007. The origins of the program started in 1998 as a Community Policing program. During the period of 2015 to 2023, CDRJS has completed 209 of 217 referrals (96.3%) with an average completion time of 3 months. The net savings to Cranbrook and communities of the East Kootenay for CDRJS offering Restorative Justice as a not-for-profit organization is $709, 764.
Restorative Justice works for the community and helps restore community.
Doug McPhee, is Program Coordinator for the Cranbrook and District Restorative Justice Society (CDRJS)
