Lompoc takes new approach to juvenile crime

Starting next month, teenagers who commit a misdemeanor in the Lompoc area may not face a judge. Instead, first-time offenders may end up facing the victims of their crime, and be asked to take personal responsibility to “make it right.”

The new program, called “restorative justice,” suggests a paradigm shift in the way society deals with crime. Instead of punishing an offender, the program would assemble a conference, including the offender, the victim and other affected people. The offender is given the chance to take responsibility for his or her actions, while the victim is given the chance to express their pain, fear and anger. Everyone present then helps to write out a contract - a plan for the offender to repair the harm he or she caused, and pay restitution.

Restorative justice program developer Robert Burrs, from Conflict Solutions Center, pointed out that the conditions victims place on an offender in the contract can sometimes be tougher to meet than what a court might impose.

If the offender meets his or her end of the contract, the crime is taken off of the record. If the offender fails, they re-enter the traditional court system.

The end result, according to Burrs, is a cheaper, and statistically more successful, method of dealing with crime.

“This program is more victim-focused and community-focused, and it's being used throughout the nation, and throughout the world,” Burrs said, mentioning Sonoma County and New Zealand as examples.

On Aug. 1, the Restorative Justice Partnership Initiative will begin in Lompoc.

Last fall, Lompoc Police Chief Tim Dabney and activist Joyce Howerton announced the beginning of a task force to begin a restorative justice program in Lompoc. The task force grew to include representatives from law enforcement, County District Attorney's Office, the County Probation, and the Lompoc Unified School District.

“We're all proponents of children and young people, and we'd all like to see them have a better start to life than entering the criminal justice system,” Howerton said Tuesday via telephone. She added that significant public funds could also be saved by keeping offenders out of the juvenile justice system.

Under the current criminal system, a juvenile is cited for committing a crime by Lompoc police, or the sheriff's department. Detectives then review the case and decide whether to send the case to the District Attorney and county probation, putting the offender into the court system.

Instead, first- or second-time non-violent misdemeanor offenders may be referred by detectives to a local restorative justice team, which sets up a private conference.

Lompoc Police Capt. Donald Deming said an offender would have to meet several prerequisites before the department would refer his or her case for the opportunity of a restorative justice conference. The victim must be willing to participate. The offender must be 12 to 17 years old, likely not have a prior criminal record, be charged with a non-violent misdemeanor, and, Deming stressed, must have admitted his or her crime and demonstrate a willingness to “make it right.”

“This is not a soft on crime approach,” said Deming, who admitted he had misgivings when he first heard of the plan. Deming said that researching the program, and speaking to law enforcement officers who have seen it in action, changed his opinion.

Burrs cited one study that showed that with traditional punishment methods, as many as 90 percent of offenders end up back behind bars by committing a new offense within three years. Offenders who undergo restorative justice conferencing instead, have shown a 20 percent recidivism rate. Burrs said the average cost for handling an offender through restorative justice would often cost hundreds of dollars, as opposed to the typical thousands necessary for the traditional court and probation process.

Deputy District Attorney Von Wynn, who handles juvenile cases for the Buellton, Lompoc and Santa Ynez areas, said fights at school and petty theft constituted the majority of the cases she sees.

“Our position is that, one, we want to make sure the community is safe; and two, we want to make sure the victims are protected,” Wynn said.

The DA's office would work closely with law enforcement and the restorative justice team to meet those goals, according to Wynn.

“Lompoc is the pioneer,” said Kimberly Rosa, executive director of Conflict Solutions Center, a nonprofit mediation agency based in Santa Maria, who said a Santa Maria-based task force continues to explore the possibility of a similar program in that city.

Burrs said the program hopes to help resolve 50 cases in its first year of service.

Rosa added that restorative justice programs in the Santa Maria and Santa Barbara juvenile probation schools have had “substantial improvements” in program graduation statistics. Rosa said the graduation rate in the Santa Maria school had risen from 50 percent to 79 percent during the first year of using the restorative justice program.

“I hope that eventually it'll be countywide, and the first option for juvenile crime,” Rosa said.

Glenn Wallace can be reached at 737-1059 or gwallace@lompocrecord.com.

July 23, 2008