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PFI training on restorative justice today
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Posted on Jan 20 2006
What is restorative justice?
According to a web definition, it is a philosophical approach to responding to crime aimed at repairing the harm caused by a criminal act and restoring the balance in the community affected by the crime.
Wikipedia was a bit more forthright, defining it as “a theory of criminal justice that focuses on crime as an act against another individual or community rather than the state. The victim plays a major role in the process and receives some type of restitution from the offender.”
If that still does not give you a picture of what restorative justice is, then this is a perfect chance for you to bone up on this alternative way of confronting crime in the community. The Prison Fellowship of the CNMI has invited Graeme Taylor of New Zealand to conduct a Sycamore Tree Project training, a biblical model for Restorative Justice, today, Jan. 21, from 9am to 4pm at the Cornerstone Christian Church, As Perdido Road, Chalan Piao. Admission is free and the public is encouraged to attend.
Taylor, who has a diploma on Restorative Justice from Queen’s University, Kingston Ontario, Canada, is Prison Fellowship International’s Service and Justice Programs Director for the Pacific.
During a luncheon meeting at the Aqua Resort Club yesterday, Taylot gave an overview of what restorative justice is and how it confronts crime as a way to heal, not only the perpetrators but also the victims. In today’s training, Taylor will expand on this and teach participants on how to implement this project—The Sycamore Tree Project—in the CNMI.
The Sycamore Tree Project gives the church the opportunity to help offenders, victims, and community members experience healing and freedom that can come when biblical justice is done. It will help them understand the results of crime on victims and the community, and to agree to take responsibility for their actions and begin making amends by taking part in an act of symbolic restitution.
For inquiries about the ministry of Prison Fellowship of the CNMI and the Sycamore Tree Project training, call PF CNMI president Rose White at 234-7219 or PF CNMI executive director Femie Rey at 235-5486/235-8590, or email pfcnmi969500@yahoo.com.
