Restorative justice program growing after three-year hiatus

After nearly two decades, the Burnaby RCMP’s restorative justice program experienced disruptions in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Restorative justice started in Burnaby in 2001 as a community-based program called the Burnaby Restorative Action Group. Staff changes during the pandemic contributed to the program’s disruption. 

In the spring of 2023 the City of Burnaby hired new staff to take over the restorative justice program. Staff members who work on the program are municipal employees, but their offices are located within the Burnaby RCMP detachment, and they work closely with RCMP members. 

Justin Hohne joined the program as youth services restorative justice coordinator in the spring of last year and has since worked on growing the program and bringing it back to life.

According to Hohne, Burnaby’s program primarily addresses minor offences committed by youth aged 9-17, such as shoplifting, theft, threatening behaviour, mischief, graffiti, vandalism or other destruction of property, fraud, and assault. The department also works closely with the school district. 

Restorative justice programs have increased in Canada over the past 20 years. They often involve addressing harm by facilitating communication between victims and offenders, frequently resulting in an apology, financial compensation, or other measures to address the harm caused. These programs have their roots in Indigenous cultures, where restorative justice circles have been used for millennia to resolve conflict.  

“When we do some work in schools as well, we can also, while not criminal in nature, provide restorative processes for harm that occurs between students in a school setting,” Hohne said. “All of our referrals do require everyone to consent to the process, so those who have been harmed by the crime need to give permission and consent for the restorative process, and the youth responsible for the harm also needs to consent with their parents’ consent as well, and they need to be willing to participate in the process of taking responsibility and repairing harm.” 

Hohne said that the process involves bringing the victims of the crime together with the youth who committed the crime in a circle with facilitators and the youth’s guardians. During the circle, the victims speak about the harm they have suffered and what the youth can do to repair it. 

“There are some cases where maybe there was a financial loss, and the youth has the ability to repay that, and that is the need of the victim, then we can support that,” Hohne said. “Oftentimes, it is the circle itself that really satisfies the needs of those who have been harmed because they get to see the remorse on the youth’s face, they get to have their questions answered.” 

Hohne said that new facilitators receive experiential training, often working with experienced facilitators to learn how to conduct a restorative justice circle. Restorative justice is closely related to mediation practice and conflict resolution, and some staff members have a background in conflict resolution. Since restarting the program in 2023, Hohne has seen steady growth in the number of referrals. 

“In 2023, we received 30 referrals from police for incidents of harm that occurred, but that number is quite low because our program really did suffer from the 2020 pandemic, and there were some staffing changes after that. I didn’t get here to start this program back up and to reintroduce it to Burnaby until the spring of last year,” Hohne said. “We’re kind of just in the rebuild phase…At this point in time today, we’ve already received 42 referrals, and so, you know, a little bit over halfway through the year, we’ve already exceeded last year’s number,” he added. 

At present, the program is primarily focused on youth, but Hohne said that occasionally, cases involving adults are referred for restorative justice. The crimes are often of the same nature as those committed by the youth who are referred to the restorative justice program. The department assesses them on a case-by-case basis. 

“The biggest thing is, you know, is the victim really wanting and needing a restorative process? Do we have the capacity for it?” Hohne said. 

Another consideration is whether the adult offender is genuinely remorseful. 

“Are they really taking responsibility for their actions and wanting to make amends?” Hohne added.

This piece was made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.

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