WHEREAS restorative justice programs or services restorative justice programs have been operational in British Columbia without defined protocols and program standards since the Community Accountability Programs initiative in March 1998 under the Victim Services and Crime Prevention Division of what is now the Ministry of Justice; AND WHEREAS restorative justice programs are perceived as community-based and as a result not required to be under protocols and program standards: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM request that the Victim Services and Crime Prevention Division of the Ministry of Justice create a working group including representation from community-based restorative justice programs, the RCMP E Division and other stakeholders to act on the recommendations from the report, A Criminal Justice System for the 21st Century, to develop protocols and programservice standards for restorative justice programs, in concert with a review of existing funding structures to provide recommendations for sustainable restorative justice program funding.
Ministry of Justice Since 2004, community based initiatives involved with the Ministry of Justices Community Accountability Program CAP have been required to abide by Guidelines set out in the Community Accountability Programs: Information Package and in their CAP contracts with the Ministry. These include requirements such as maintaining confidentially, obtaining criminal record checks for volunteers and providing a complaints process for participants. In 2011, the Ministry provided funding and support to Community Justice Initiatives Association to produce Walking the Talk: Developing Ethics Frameworks for the Practice of Restorative Justice. This resource has been well received by communities and aims to assist restorative justice practitioners in going through the process of determining the values that will guide the work of their organization. Additionally, in order to promote responsive and effective community-based restorative justice approaches, in May 2013 the Ministry completed a series of regional trainings for contracted CAP in partnership with Community Justice Initiatives Association. The training goals were to ensure consistent, quality service delivery by CAP groups, with particular attention to victims needs and issues, to increase the capacity of BC CAP groups to accept referrals of increased diversity and complexity and to provide opportunities for regional networking among agencies. The government has committed in White Paper on Justice Reform part two: A Timely, Balanced Justice System to explore opportunities for restorative justice within existing resources and to expand restorative justice if additional funding becomes available. Recommendations in A Criminal Justice System for the 21st Century regarding program standards will be considered moving forward.
RCMP The BC RCMP provides provincial policing services to British Columbia under contract between Public Safety Canada and the Province of BC. We are committed to working closely with the Police Services Division to ensure an appropriate and effective policing level throughout the province. These resolutions will be a very important component of the information we will use in our discussions with Police Services Division.