Saipan hosts 2-day restorative justice conference

The executive director for the Washington D.C.-based Prison Fellowship International’s Centre for Justice and Reconciliation is on Saipan, holding a two-day restorative justice conference.

Lawyer Daniel Van Ness of the Prison Fellowship International discussed about restorative justice during yesterday’s kickoff of the two-day training at the Saipan Grand Hotel’s Seaside Hall.

Over 40 participants, mostly pastors from Saipan, Guam, Palau, and Federated States of Micronesia, participated in the conference.

Restorative justice is a new movement in the fields of victimology and criminology.

In an interview with Saipan Tribune, Ness said restorative justice is an approach to crime that says it is not just about breaking the law; it is also about causing harm to victims and communities.

Ness said people should not just hold offenders accountable by punishing them but also requiring them to repair the harm that they’ve done in some way.

“That could be done through an apology, to be done through paying restitution or giving the money or the property back,” he said.

The executive director said that one of the ways restorative justice does this is by inviting the victim and the offender to a meeting, with a facilitator.

“They can talk about what happened, what the experience was. And that’s when the victim can ask questions [like] why did you choose my house to break into…why did you take from my car…that kind of thing,” he said.

Restorative justice, Ness pointed out, has probably been used on Saipan for years and years because of customary responses to crimes.

Around the world, he noted, criminal justice systems are incorporating parts of the restorative justice programs or approaches.

The United Nations, Ness said, is encouraging countries to have guidelines on how to blend restorative justice with their criminal justice systems.

“And the advantage is, it is better for the victims. Victims are happy with the process and more satisfied that justice has been done. It also changes the behavior of the offenders,” he said.

The likelihood that offenders will commit new crimes in the future is lower if they’ve gone through the restorative justice system than if they gone through the regular criminal justice system, Ness said.

“It is faster and costs less money and brings more cases to justice. So there’s some benefit from a public policy standpoint,” he added.

Bob Dames, Prison Fellowship International Regional Service Team Member for Pacific Micronesia, said this is the first restorative justice conference given by the Prison Fellowship International in Micronesia.

“What we are trying to do is we’re trying to bring training into a particular area to better focus upon leadership training for those in different nations to participate in a more large scale,” said Dames, who is based in Guam.

Dames said their focus was really upon Christian leadership within their countries and inviting participants to have a better understanding of restorative justice and what that means and how that can be translated into practical applications to their countries.

There are 113 countries around the world that are affiliated with Prison Fellowship International as national ministry organizations.

Femie Rey, president of Prison Fellowship-CNMI, said the pastors on the island have really showed interest in learning restorative justice because it will help them as they minister to their people here.

The Prison Fellowship-CNMI has been organized since 2001.

“We have that kind of ministry here. We are dealing not only with prisoners but their families as well,” Rey said.

It is also a sort of crime prevention, she said, adding that they have an ongoing program by visiting prisoners at the Department of Corrections where they talk to them and conduct Bible studies.

“We talk about crimes, and we talk about biblical values, and moral values,” Rey said.