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PO Box 4716, Los Alamos, NM 87547

Restorative Justice Program

repairing relationships

Los Alamos JJAB :: Restorative Justice Program

An approach to justice in which the response is to organize a meeting between the victim and the offender, sometimes with representatives of the wider community. The JJAB program works with cases from Teen Court and aims for offenders to take responsibility for their actions, to understand the harm they have caused, to give them an opportunity to redeem themselves and to discourage them from causing further harm. For victims, its goal is to provide them an active role in the process.

The main aspect of the program is the Restorative Justice Conference.  The Conference is a structured meeting between the teen who has received a citation, and the community that has been affected by the event. The goal of the Conference is to provide the teen a safe to place to discuss the citation event, become accountable, and work together as a community on how to best repair the harm that has been done. Conferences provide the community, and others, with an opportunity to express their feelings, ask questions, and assist with a positive outcome. The teen offender hears firsthand how their behavior has affected people and hopefully to begin to repair the harm they have caused by apologizing, making amends, and agreeing to natural and logical consequences that enhance learning.